Not everything is as it seems
Fall of Light opens with a movie that could safely be the beginning of a possible Dark Souls 4 , or, taking the pronounced words out of the way out and applying them to the introduction of Miyazaki’s last effort, these would be perfection and hardly you will notice the replacement.
The story told by Fall of Lightit has a strong aftertaste of the already seen and staged the eternal struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. In the beginning was chaos, the world was devastated by shadows, and only the intervention of Light allowed the advent of order and harmony, to which thirteen eons of peace and prosperity followed in which man lived in peace.
The idyll is broken by Pain (not Metal Gear Solid 3) a magician who, without a real one, decides that it’s time to send everything to the air, devoting himself to arcane cults and magic that can break the quiet light era. After the most classic of the struggle between good and evil, the latter succeeds in prevailing, thus giving way to the fourteenth era of man, the first ruled by darkness.
In this decadent context and enveloped by darkness, the player is dressed in Nyx, the most stereotypical of faceless and noisy warriors whose task is to save his daughter Aether out of the perennial darkness that envelops a world invaded by crazy knights, monsters and demons all sorts.
The father-daughter relationship is the center of Fall of Light, a title in which not only should you try to survive the assaults of the many enemies, but you also have the burden of never losing Aether; if abandoned and left helpless, the young girl is actually abducted by the shadows and locked in some cage scattered for the levels, or, more simply, is killed with a good sword stroke.
These finds have implications for gameplay – which I will talk later – and point out, from the point of view of history, the double-stranded link that links Nyx, Aether, and the salvation of the world. History seems to come straight out of Miyazaki’s pen, also for the hermetic way it is taught, through deliberately confused dialogues with NPCs scattered around the game universe, or written in many recoverable texts in the various semi-destructed libraries. Perfect, now take what you said to throw it out, because that’s what I did at first encounter with a Shrine of Wisdom.
The interaction with these altars projects Nyx in a parallel – and modern dimension – and creates a second narrative layer that interlaces, overlaps and splits the more classic dark fantasy. For spoilers, I can not go any further,but be aware that this new light on the bond between the old warrior and the young dying girl is a real stinging fist , capable of erasing the words spoken in Aether’s direction in the face of abduction.
Known Schemes
With the proper proportions, the Fall system of action of the Fall of Lightis a faithful reproduction of what is proposed in the various Souls, starting with the commands setting.
Taking the Xbox One pad as a reference – beyond the model, the pad is recommended to enjoy the title best – with LT you raise the shield, the powerful attack and the quick attack are positioned respectively on RB and on the right trigger , while using the B key dodge the hatches or jumps. All the commands are anyway definable at will, a mapping freedom that I personally appreciate a lot.
On this basic frame, the RuneHeads boys have grafted a deep and tactical combat system, made of defense, parades, perfect timing – which guarantees a frame of invulnerability – and counterattacks, where the tactical element represented by the bar of the stamina, the worst enemy when his character is surrounded by everywhere.
Preciousness such as dual wielding or a different combo system for each type of weapon make each combat an experiment in which to test their reflexes and the ability to react to the various types of enemies. And there are several types, from the most desperate classics with a sword of wood and ripped shirts, to the heaviest knights with shield and armor, passing through terrible giants capable of knocking Nyx in one shot or still monsters of various kinds , zombie or lizard-men.
