Sir Daniel, why are you turning all of your enemies into Roast Chicken!? Oh wait, it’s because you’re all bones!
Today, in our journey across Gallowmere, we encounter several powerful foes on our way through some of the best and worst Zarok has to offer.
Believe it or not, the Ant Caves were actually noticeably different when compared to the original version. As you see below in YouTuber “i CABAL i”‘s footage, the original PlayStation version was difficult to navigate due to a pitifully low draw distance combined with very samey looking textures and environments. Given what was on screen, it could be hard to determine what the player’s rough position was on the map.
Compared to the original level, the newer version’s background details and draw distance are much easier to read and navigate. Looking back at my run, I actually little to no trouble navigating the area. However, there were issues that the new version had that the old one, oddly enough didn’t.
While the new details make navigation less of a hassle, it makes it harder to locate the 6 fairies the player needs to obtain a free trip to the Hall of Heroes. The barriers keeping the fairies trapped contrast more clearly to the lower detail, lower resolution background on the original PlayStation version. In the end, my difficulty with the last few faeries in this PS4 version came from them blending in just a bit too well. That said, the whole area didn’t take as long as I was afraid it might be.
On the other hand, The Sleeping Village is one of my favorite areas in the game. It’s not a particularly easy or difficult level, but it provides an interesting twist on the usual mechanics in the same with the innocent villagers whose death will extract energy from the Chalice.
It also does a fair bit of world building in terms of the society of Gallowmere and how it developed over the course of a hundred years. We learn about the mayor, and how he took steps to prevent Zarok from summoning the Shadow Demons, even if we still had to free them to continue our own quest.
Shame I had to cut my stream a bit short, but hopefully that won’t become a pattern. I’m still having a blast coming back to this game after so long.
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