Book 7 of 2024 - Cosmic Detective

Cosmic Detective

Author: Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, David Rubin (Art)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Sci-Fi, Noir

Pages: 208

Finished: Yes
Final Rating: 8.4/10

Cosmic Detective is a gritty, hardboiled graphic novel about a detective trying to solve the murder of what could be called a god. In true noir fashion, the more he discovers the shittier his life gets. 

The art really drives home what a cross between cosmic horror and sci-fi detective work might look like. Strange allies, mysterious technology, and a backstory that's really only hinted at serve to draw in the reader even more.

I read this in a single sitting, and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. Give it a shot.

Book 6 of 2024 - Counterweight

Counterweight

Author: Djuna

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 176

Finished: Yes
Final Rating: 8/10

Counterweight is a slick techo-noir thriller set in the near future, on the fictional island of Patusa. Our narrator, Mac, LK's Chief of Internal Affairs, gets caught up in a truly Byzantine plot of corporate intrigue and transhumanism that would make William Gibson proud.

Counterweight is a tight sub-200 page novel with plenty of cool ideas and action, complete with red herrings, twists, turns, pirouettes, twirls, etc, etc you get the idea. The plot involves the world's first space elevator, with a secret hidden inside the counterweight that uh, anchors the elevators cable in space I guess. The counterweight is more than a collection of space junk though, as it holds a potentially dangerous secret.

Djuna is a pseudonymous South Korean author that I had never heard of before reading Counterweight. I believe this is the first and only novel of theirs that has been translated into English. According to Google, the novel was originally conceived as a short film.(which I'm sure would have been awesome). Counterweight really whet my appetite for more of Djuna's work, so I hope more of it is translated in the future.

Game 12 of 2024 - Dread Delusion

Dread Delusion

Developer: Lovely Hellplace
Publisher: DreadXP
Platform: PC
Genre: CRPG

Difficulty: Easy-ish
Hours: 25

Finished: Yes
Final Rating: 8.6/10

Picture this: You are a nameless, faceless prisoner of the Inquisition, arrested long ago for crimes that are never made clear. One day you are released by the High Confessor and tasked with bringing in a fugitive for some strange reason. From then on, you are free to make your way in the world, exploring, looting, and fighting as you see fit.

Sound familiar? If you've played any of the Elder Scrolls games, it probably should. Dread Delusion takes a lot of inspiration from Morrowind in particular, but while it shares a lot of DNA with that old RPG treasure, Dread Delusion is it's own beast.

First off, this is your boss, the High Confessor:

...the fuck is this thing?

You're immediately greeted with an alien world, rendered lovingly in low-poly circa 1999 textures. Dread Delusion takes place on the Oneiric Isles, which are a bunch of floating islands orbiting something called a Neuron Star. The isles are bathed in a pink/purple light, which clashes delightfully with the more mundane elements of the world, like houses and trees invoking a mild sense of... well, dread.

While I loved Dread Delusion's visuals, they aren't going to be for everyone. After a while I didn't even clock that the graphics were low-res, that's how well they're used. Every pixel in every texture is used to maximum effect to create this exotic world.

The story is also great, I just wished there was a bit more of it. You end up getting some cool companions, but I don't think we really get to spend enough time with them to bond. They have some great backstory though, and they look awesome.

The Emberian is a badass.

Dread Delusion likes to keep things simple. There is a simple alchemy system, a simple weapon and armor upgrade system, and you can even buy property and upgrade it if you like. I found owning property was mostly pointless since there isn't a great fast travel system in the game, so I almost never visited the houses I owned.

You engage with enemies in both melee and ranged combat, but other than a few swords and bows there aren't any other weapons. You get throwing knives and shurikens as well. There isn't a wide variety of loot to be quite honest, but the game doesn't really need it.

I guess if I had some criticisms, it's that the game's too easy. You can just avoid most fights, and when your hand is forced, combat isn't that hard and health potions are plentiful. The only time I was ever in any danger is when I was outnumbered or fighting a certain endgame bullshit monster. The map, while nice, could use a little work, It would have been nice to have some labeling or even the ability to make our own notes so we could remember interesting places.

The Duchess.

Ultimately, I kind of wished there was both more and less of Dread Delusion. I could have used less wandering around and a little more interactivity and characterization of our companions, especially considering how well-written they are.

Nice.

 

Anyway, the Oneiric Isles are a captivating place and I hope RPG fans give this a try.