We didn’t have enough to reveal Emma’s Contradiction before, but a bit of detective work and we’re all teed up to Spot the Lair!

One of the fun aspects of detective stories and games is the way the truth of whatever incident is being investigated unravels over the course of the adventure. At first, every clue and piece of evidence seems to point in one obvious direction. But by picking apart minor inconsistencies, the detective can slowly begin to unravel the tapestry to uncover what was hiding underneath.

It’s that kind of slow, deliberate buildup that can lead to a fun, suspenseful story. And though Jenks’s antics can verge on the absurd, we are still inching ever closer.

Something about what Emma said at the end of the last episode rubs me the wrong way. I have a sneaking suspicion that under scrutiny, we’ll find a Contradiction in her statement!

I knew I would love this game the moment I saw Vinny Caravela, Alex Navarro, and Austin Walker cover it in a Quick Look, back when they were all working for Giant Bomb. In much the same way I’m having a laugh at the absurdity of Detective Inspector Jenks, the three of them were having such a genuinely fun time that I had to get in on the actor and play it for myself.

And I’m glad I did because now I can share it with you all.

I’ve run out of PS2-era nostalgia platformers to milk for easy stream content, so I think it’s a good idea to start showcasing one of my other loves: Murder Mysteries!

And let’s start with a simple one, to see how the format works for me. This is Contradiction: Spot the Liar, one of my favorite lesser-known gems.

This is a good game for our first murder mystery for a few reasons. The first is that it has a simple, comprehensible gameplay loop. Our primary method of furthering our investigation is by asking questions to our various persons of interest and pointing out the Contradictions in their own statements. Along the way, we’ll do some light fieldwork by exploring the village for clues, but our role will largely be to expose lies by pointing out incongruities. The task is simple enough that we shouldn’t find ourselves too stuck too frequently. (Famous last words, I know.)

The other big reason this is our first mystery game is that the actor playing Detective Inspector Jenks is one of the goofiest people I have ever seen in the leading role of a murder mystery. His antics alone make for great content, which should help alleviate the burden on me.

So I hope you join me for this investigation in the sleepy village of Edenton.

Sadler had one last trick up his sleeve. Thankfully, we had many more than that.

And that’s a rap. Though the beginning was rough, as the expansion wore on, it found it’s groove and grew more fun and interesting as a direct result.

And next week, we’ll play Marvel’s The Avengers.

It’s time. We’re finally ready to confront Sadler and steal back the amber.

I have to admit that’s cute that David thinks I could get frustrated or scared by a video game boss fight like the one here. Even if I died a few times to what felt like a glitch in the system, his attack pattern isn’t too difficult to avoid and I had more than enough ammo to sustain myself.

The only real problem with Resident Evil boss fights is that it’s tough to determine whether or not we’re actually making progress until we see the cutscene transition to the next phase. It’s part of why I’m constantly wondering out loud if I’m actually doing any damage whatsoever. All it would take is a little more visual/audio feedback to give me a sign.

And with that, the next episode is going to be the last of this series.

I don’t know how many obstacles remain between us and Sadler, but I know we can take them all.

I can’t help but admire the campy goofiness of the laser grid sequence in this episode. Ada Wong is a super spy, and it’s such a classic genre trope, and a reference to the movies to boot, that it fits perfectly in with the rest of the game. Doubly so since our second attempt at it has a giant BOW out to get us.

That said, I’m surprised that were confident enough to do even a small QTE like this in the context of Resident Evil 4. It’s not a big one, but the original game is so infamous for its long QTEs that you’d be they’d be nervous to do one at all.

We’re on the home stretch. Sadler has our prize. So to complete our contract, we will have to dispose of him.

While fighting the Regeneradors in this episode, we hit upon an interesting comparison of the classic Resident Evil 4 versus this version, highlighting a key difference in how games of their respective generations function.

In the original, once the player has the biosensor scope, it’s actually relatively easy to shoot the hearts of the creature to dispose of it. There’s very little mechanic skill involved in the act because of the simplistic way it moves and animates. By and large, it moves predictably, in a straight line towards you.

To sell the fluid and dynamic nature of the creature, the remake introduces a degree of bobbing and swaying that wasn’t present before. While this adds to the verisimilitude, it comes at the cost of making the hearts, even with the BioScope, more difficult to hit accurately. This may be an intended side-effect, but the push for higher-definition enemy designs and animations comes at the cost of functionality, similar to how we need yellow paint in modern games to tell us where to go since environments aren’t as legible as they used to be in older console generations.

It’s something I’m beginning to notice more and more as the graphical fidelity wars continue and I get older. Part of the magic of the older generation of games is that they were intensely legible at a glance, by design, and many games have begun to lose elements of that as they progress into the modern era.

Admittedly, this is only a minor example, but it is one that I will probably reference for years to come.

With Bug Boy out of the picture, we can finally concentrate on our actual goals, as soon as I remember what they were.

David Phillips at https://www.twitch.tv/davenscastle
Thanks to him for pointing out that the z-word was a slur. I had never heard it in that context before, and I shall henceforth not repeat it.

Having said that, I have clearly underestimated the expansion by at least 2 hours. I thought we would finish tonight, but we’ll need one more recording session before we can wrap up. And I’m still not sure what I’ll be doing next.

But that’s a problem for future me.

Looks like Bug Boy is back, and it’s time to deep-six him permanently.

David Phillips at https://www.twitch.tv/davenscastle

From my experience, it appears that almost without exception, the boss fights are the least tense segments of a Resident Evil game, and this one is no different.

That’s not to say that the lack of tension is a mistake, but it is an interesting data point. Theoretically, seeing a major antagonistic force transform into a giant abomination should be scarier than facing a suit of armor with a parasite inside it. However, because that oversized monster comes in the form of a standard video game boss fight, the tension almost immediately leaves the room. All the conventions are there, and most players will instinctively know what they to do and where they need to aim. But that’s intentional because they’re a deliberate release of tension. We’ve been hounded by this enemy for hours. Now that he’s a boss fight, we know he’s vulnerable.

By contrast, the fight against the knights in a closed space with archers outside the room is a more tense battle. Same with most fights against hordes of generic mobs. They test our resources and tactical thinking in far more potent ways.

It’s a neat trick, and one that I can respect.

We have one more ingredient left for the inhibitor treatment, so we had best hurry!

David Phillips at https://www.twitch.tv/davenscastle

It is astounding what a difference a stronger weapon and a few upgrades can make to a run. What were once difficult foes become much easier to take down thanks to the Red9 and a good stock.

We’re coming up on the turning point that all Resident Evil games seem to have, where the resources and equipment are potent enough that enemies aren’t as threatening as they were in the early game. We stand a fighting chance against them and a good one at that.

And as always, it feels good.