Summary
Video games come in many different shapes and sizes, but usually, players can get some idea of what to expect from any individual game. If the game is part of a series, it will likely become known for certain aspects, whether it is story, characters, gameplay, themes, or aesthetic choices. It might feel weird, for instance, to play aCall of Dutycampaign centered on diplomacy or aTomb Raidergame that is not about Lara Croft. There can be exceptions, but those are usually clearly marked. One doesn’t typically start aMariogame expecting to play a gritty first-person shooter. But as much as games contain patterns,the developers often like to add variety to the experience.
Sometimes, developers like to experiment with more drastic changes for a level or two. When this happens, it can take a player by surprise. In some cases, the change stands out so much that it almost starts to make a person wonder if they are even playing the same game, or have somehow wandered into something else.
TheArkhamseries features a lot of the classic Batman villains, but they manage to put an especially dark take on Scarecrow. This guy has an unhealthy obsession with fear and a love of making questionable substances that produce disturbing hallucinations. Of course, he also has a habit of throwing those same substances at Batman, who has apparently never heard of gas masks. Most of Batman’s enemies are reasonably straightforward, and can usually be defeated through problem-solving or finding the right fighting technique. Scarecrow is a whole other beast.
These sections, appropriately referred to as “nightmares,“take a turn into surreal horrorthat looks more like it belongs in aResident Evil game. Batman can’t so much punch his way out of this one as attempt to survive long enough for the toxin to wear off, which often means avoiding a giant version of Scarecrow who can kill him instantly.
Cyberpunk 2077is an action RPG set in an open-world dystopia. There are a lot of obvious sci-fi influences, particularlyBlade Runner, butAlienis probably not the first thing most players would think of. Most of the plot focuses on the criminal underworld, with a lot of missions involving V taking legally questionable jobs. There is also a bit of room for some big action scenes andGTA-style vehicular mayhem, as well as opportunities to interact with other characters and make decisions that affect how the plot develops.
There is also a weird plot involving Keanu Reeves as a terrorist who is also a rock star and accidentally uploaded into V’s mind. The game can be described as many things, but horror is not usually one of them. That was until thePhantom Libertyexpansion was released.
For the most part,the DLC follows a similar format to the base game… unless the player chooses to side with Idris Elba’s character Leeds. Doing so unlocks the mission “Somewhat Damaged” which takes a whole other turn. V enters a desolate facility where they find a giant robot that, unlike other enemies in the game, is impervious to their weapons.
Fighting it is not an option, so V instead has to focus on evading it while completing the main objectives. If this sounds familiar, it might be because a lot of players have compared this mission toAlien: Isolation. The facility V has to navigate even looks a bit like Sevastapol, and players have to use a lot of the same evasion tactics.
Half-Life 2takes place in the aftermath of an alien invasion that ended with Earth being conquered by the Combine Empire. Most of the game takes place in City 17, with player character Gordon Freeman joining the resistance and starting an uprising against the Combine. A lot of the game is centered around Orwellian themes of totalitarian control, complete with Wallace Breen acting as a kind of “big brother” figure. Most of it involves the Freeman fighting Combine soldiers, mixed with the occasional hostile wildlife like barnacles and antlions while working towards major objectives. But the game takes a curious turn in its third chapter. After the resistance base is attacked by the Combine, Gordon has to escape through a hidden tunnel thatleads to the abandoned town of Ravenholm.
Once in Ravenholm, the game shifts from Orwellian dystopia to zombie apocalypse. The gameplay becomes less about fighting the Combine and more about surviving against hordes of headcrabs and the town’s zombified former inhabitants, almost like a single-playerLeft 4 Dead. This leads to the level being pretty self-contained, complete with Gordon’s only ally, Father Grigori, appearing exclusively in the Ravenholm chapter. The survival horror aspect is also ramped up with the addition of traps that Gordon can use to eliminate zombies (something not seen anywhere else in the game).
The premise of theMafiagamesis usually pretty self-explanatory. They revolve around the experiences ofcharacters involved with organized crime, which often means taking part in heists and shootouts worthy of Edward G. Robinson. But the game takes an odd turn in its fifth level, which centers around the player character Tommy Angelo trying to prevent someone from winning an automobile race. The first part is straightforward enough - steal the race car and get it to the mechanic who can sabotage it. But then there’s another problem: turns out the boss’s driver has a broken arm and it just so happens Tommy is the one person best suited to take his place. Isn’t that convenient?
And just like that,Mafiasuddenly turns into a racing game themed around 1930s racecars. Tommy has to deal with a lot of the usual racing mechanics like drift, speed, and navigating tight corners, and it is also made more challenging by a mechanic where cars can take damage. This could probably be made into a decent separate game. However, it is likely to trip up anyone impatient to get to the shootouts, since Tommyhasto get first place to progress.
Red Dead Redemption 2is a story about outlaws fighting a losing battle against a changing world. One of the biggest themes of the game is the erosion of the American frontier as it becomes increasingly occupied by “civilization,” and their inability to find a place within it. The protagonists are relentlessly hunted by the law and desperately seek refuge from a world that keeps getting more industrial and urban. This makes it a curious change when, in Chapter 6,the gang is shipwrecked on the island of Guarma.
A lot of the main plot is put on hold, with only a few of the main characters being present, and instead, it becomes about their struggle against the plantation owner Alberto Fussar. Within minutes of arriving, the gang is captured by Fussar’s men before being recruited by a resistance movement. Suddenly it becomes all about trying to survive a lawless world and breaking up Fussar’s hold on the island.
Put simply, during this section ofRed Dead Redemption 2, everythingsuddenly starts to feel more like a miniFar Crygame. The setup of Dutch’s gang being stranded on the island and caught up in its strife is quite reminiscent of Jason’s situation inFar Cry 3, a parallel reinforced by the tropical setting. The arms dealer Hercule Fontaine feels like someone right at home in the Rook Islands or Yara. The player takes part in similar missions, and there are even first-person cutscenes that do not happen anywhere else, but look a lot like the ones used inFar Cry 3-5.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s plot can get a bit outlandish, but its New York setting becomes a pretty recognizable sight to anyone who plays the game long enough. That changes when Spider-Man confronts his nemesis, Scorpion, and gets injected with a super hallucinogenic substance. The familiar city skyline gets twisted into something much more surreal and disconcerting. Buildings are drowned in a sickly green fluid, only the tops of the highest skyscrapers poking out of the surface. Scorpion tails emerge from the water like giant serpents.
When he’s not dealing with that, Spider-Man has to navigate an unnerving dreamscape through floating buildings, an empty void full of manifestations of his inner flaws, almost starting to resembleArkham’s scarecrow sequences. And somehow he is expected to keep his senses clear enough to find an antidote to the poison. That is easier said than done when buildings seem to shift around and he cannot see where he is going.
