Feb 18, 2021
Tim and Joel begin with a discussion of ludonarrative dissonance -- when the act of playing a game is in conflict with the story or theme it is trying to portray. We look at specific examples of dissonance like the achievement system in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the crafting system in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. We also look at simple narrative imbalance in Death Stranding. And finally, we look at games that foreground story but don't do enough with gameplay, such as the token interactivity of some of David Cage's creations, or the various Telltale game series.
We then look at the peculiar case of Cyberpunk 2077, and analyze some of its failures. Whereas CD Projekt Red's previous game The Witcher 3 was a high point in video game storytelling, Cyberpunk attempted to do far more with narrative, but to much lesser effect. We discuss the litany of ways in which it failed to deliver on its promise, despite its excellent writing and compelling aesthetic.
Games Discussed:
- Far Cry 2
- Watch Dogs Legion
- Tomb Raider
- Outer Wilds
- Papers Please
- Wolfenstein The New Colossus
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
- Night in the Woods
- Fahrenheit
- Heavy Rain
- The Last of Us 2
- Death Stranding
- Disco Elysium
- Kentucky Route Zero
- Tacoma
- GTA 4
- GTA 5
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Witcher 3
- Shadowrun Returns
- Deus Ex