I finished Wandersong!
Jun. 7th, 2019 02:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flamebyrdThis post is even longer than the last one, although at least it covers more than one chapter.
Spoilers for Chapter 6, 7 and the rest
Chapter 6
Welp, it's just the Bard now. With the spirit world collapsed I guess they don't need the Overseer's song any more, and it's not like Miriam was particularly helpful in the exploration parts of each chapter before, but still. Be well, Miriam!
The Ascent
I think I missed learning a new dance here. Oops. I'm pretty sure I can go back for it after I finish the game, but I'm annoyed.
The new, improved bird puzzles were mildly annoying but manageable for me, aside from one where I just could not figure out how to catch a bird while falling and just got through by pure luck and button mashing.
The Cave
The Bard refusing to step on any bugs was the cutest thing. The little sound-effect voices are really used to great effect, the sound designer did a fantastic job!
In a few places I was only able to solve the puzzle by accidentally discovering clipping bugs (no pun intended). Oops?
The Summit
Oh goody, wind puzzles. On a mountain ridge. And you say the developer is best friends with the Celeste devs? How interesting.
I got stuck for a good 5-10 minutes on this one chasm you had to jump across with the aid of the wind. And then, thanks to my own incompetence with directing flying seals, I had to do it 3 more times. Yikes.
But the flying seals were almost cute enough to make up for it.
Audrey and Bard
What do we think would be more in-character: The Bard abandoning Audrey at the bottom of the cave, or the Bard successfully bluffing Audrey about abandoning her?
Also, Audrey got the Bard angry enough to actually yell in all-caps. Amazing.
I'd forgotten about the Potion of Power by the time it actually came back into play, so nice job on not letting that opportunity slip by, game. Hah.
Anyway, this sequence definitely added some depth to Audrey, while also highlighting how she and the Bard are fundamentally very different people with different outlooks on life, and I think it's interesting that they didn't really bond at all, nor reach an equilibrium. A subtle subversion of the "fall into a cave with your enemy and have to work together to get out" trope.
Also, I am very into the Bard calling Audrey out on hurting Miriam and telling her that they think that was "just evil". Show us that backbone, kid!
The King of Hearts
I knew Audrey's broken promise was coming due some spoiler I encountered somewhere or other (probably before I bought the game), but yeowch. Bard ;_; But at least the Bard made up with the Rainbow Girl...? I guess?
It did resolve some of the plot related questions I had though. Turns out the reason Audrey can't just let the Bard try to sing the Earthsong and kill the final Overseer if that doesn't work is because she doesn't want to - because it would mean she wasn't the Hero.
Also, I kind of love how childish the Bard's dialogue sounds when they get really mad.
It's an interesting take on the Chosen Hero trope, for sure. And I guess sometimes being really aggressively nice at people won't get them on your side. Sometimes people are just jerks. A good lesson. (Unless that part of the story is still coming.)
Chapter 7
I played through the first scene of this immediately after finishing chapter 6. before turning it off for the night and coming back the next day.
Langtree
And then we have the Bard confessing that they don't share their negative feelings because that wouldn't help anyone, oh no. And then they still don't share any! Only the teensiest little admission that they were hurt when Miriam left. I hope someday someone teaches this kid it's okay to be sad.
It's sad that Langtree is in ruins now (along with... the rest of the world) but it was nice to chat to all the villagers again, and find out that most of them actually do love the Bard and think they belong in Langtree. ;_;
And now (the next morning, for me)...
The Finale
Could not figure out this "boss battle" at all. My timing was off or something, I was managing maybe 1 out of every 10 attempts. But I guess I got enough hits in to 'win' anyway. I'm so glad this game is so generous with its (lack of) failure conditions.
For a second I thought maybe the Bard actually would be able to get through to Audrey... But I guess not! I think the relationship between the Bard and Audrey is a really interesting one, the Bard basically hates her on sight because the Bard really wants to be the Hero and thinks Audrey is doing it wrong. And at first, I think a lot of that hatred was really just them feeling not good enough. But they keep trying to connect with her anyway (at least partially because they think they can convince Audrey to come to the "let's at least try to save the universe first" side). And then... it doesn't work. Audrey isn't willing to push her own overwhelming desire to be the Hero aside.
Like I said earlier, some people are just jerks.
Fortunately this little failure of the message of love and peace is immediately forgotten in the face of the beautiful, unabashedly cliche "whole world singing in harmony" of the ending.
I love it.
And it's all tied up in the Bard being who they are, because they couldn't sing the Earthsong but it didn't matter because everyone loved them (and the world) enough to save it anyway. You're not nobody, little Bard!
The choir of singing flying seals was a definite highlight of the finale.
Also, Miriam taking the centre spotlight in the final group photo. You're not nobody either, Miriam!
And Eyala saying she's proud of both of them, oh no ;_;
The Farewell Tour
Chaandesh/Rulle:
I guess there are two people the Bard never managed to win over: Audrey, and the King's Guard from Rulle.
The Bard still thinks pirates are the best thing ever, and I love it.
Chismest:
And the Baron is their father but the Bard hasn't figured that out yet, so that's going to be awkward if the Bard ever does go home for a meal with them like their Mom is suggesting.
As an aside, since I haven't asked it yet: How old is the Bard? I mean, their mom looked pretty old... And they're obviously old enough to be living on their own in Langtree (did they... have a job??).
Edit: AND ALSO, if Chismest is their hometown, why didn't anyone in town seem to recognise them? If Vlad the bar owner was good friends with the Baron when he was "kind and gentle", why doesn't he recognise the Bard? Surely some of the people we meet in town would have known them when they were a kid? Until the Baron reveal I thought maybe the Bard's mom had moved to the town, but it wasn't where the Bard grew up. This is all extremely confusing.
Returning to the farewell tour…
Tatango:
In addition to re-joining the band, I really hope the Bard gets to travel with the pirates (and their new mermaid crew!) for a while.
Delphi:
We get to see the Delphi band again! And Ash is still sad about their mom, despite everything, which I think is a very realistic depiction of grief. I hope the Bard re-joins the band and travel the world with them when their awful new vocalist inevitably quits to go solo.
I'm glad we got to see the trolls again! And they even got Bard to express a vaguely negative sentiment about humanity, even if it was a "not ALL humans". Character development?
And Miriam's grandmother insisting the Bard joins them for dinner first ;_;
Langtree:
No final scene with anyone in Langtree, I suppose because we got that before The End. But I hope everyone in town still loves them now that the world isn't ending.
And Bard and Miriam get one final hug and the game doesn't try to make their relationship explictly romantic. GOOD JOB, GAME :D
Also, the Bard's little foot pop in the hug is the cutest thing. (Image from this Let's Play, which is also the source of all my quotes.)
After finishing the game, you get access to a scene select so I was able to go back and get the dance I missed, and I tell you what, I am so sad I wasn't able to play the entire finale act dabbing. (Image from this Let's Play again.)
Final Thoughts
I loved it, I have a few minor quibbles and I think a few things could have been handled a bit more sensitively, but overall it was just as positive-without-being-insipid as advertised and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it, even the frustrating platforming bits.
I have a lot of thoughts about positivity, and how it's hard to stay positive all the time, and I wish the game had delved a little deeper into the psychological toll this takes on the Bard. I think I'm more Bard than I am Miriam, although I probably fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
There's also a discussion to be had here about pacifism and tone arguments that I don't feel like getting into.
Finally, a really underrated aspect of the gameplay was how much fun it is to just run around harmonising with the background music.
PS: Yes, I unlocked the secret bit at the end, and now I guess I get to play it again with commentary :D
--
And now it's over. Am I going to stop posting about it now? I guess we'll have to find out.
(Maybe eventually someone else will play this game and want to talk about it with me?)
Edit 2019-06-07: Added a bit more to the chapter 7 section.
Spoilers for Chapter 6, 7 and the rest
Chapter 6
Welp, it's just the Bard now. With the spirit world collapsed I guess they don't need the Overseer's song any more, and it's not like Miriam was particularly helpful in the exploration parts of each chapter before, but still. Be well, Miriam!
The Ascent
I think I missed learning a new dance here. Oops. I'm pretty sure I can go back for it after I finish the game, but I'm annoyed.
The new, improved bird puzzles were mildly annoying but manageable for me, aside from one where I just could not figure out how to catch a bird while falling and just got through by pure luck and button mashing.
The Cave
The Bard refusing to step on any bugs was the cutest thing. The little sound-effect voices are really used to great effect, the sound designer did a fantastic job!
In a few places I was only able to solve the puzzle by accidentally discovering clipping bugs (no pun intended). Oops?
The Summit
Oh goody, wind puzzles. On a mountain ridge. And you say the developer is best friends with the Celeste devs? How interesting.
I got stuck for a good 5-10 minutes on this one chasm you had to jump across with the aid of the wind. And then, thanks to my own incompetence with directing flying seals, I had to do it 3 more times. Yikes.
But the flying seals were almost cute enough to make up for it.
Audrey and Bard
Bard: And you have to promise... not to end the world!
Audrey: I can't.
Bard: Yes you can! That's a very normal, easy thing to promise! Look, I can do it right now! "I promise not to end the wor--
What do we think would be more in-character: The Bard abandoning Audrey at the bottom of the cave, or the Bard successfully bluffing Audrey about abandoning her?
Also, Audrey got the Bard angry enough to actually yell in all-caps. Amazing.
I'd forgotten about the Potion of Power by the time it actually came back into play, so nice job on not letting that opportunity slip by, game. Hah.
Anyway, this sequence definitely added some depth to Audrey, while also highlighting how she and the Bard are fundamentally very different people with different outlooks on life, and I think it's interesting that they didn't really bond at all, nor reach an equilibrium. A subtle subversion of the "fall into a cave with your enemy and have to work together to get out" trope.
Audrey: How could you care... about something so insignificant... like bugs? How did you even know they would help you?
Bard: Huh? I didn't know they would help me! That's not why I care about them, Audrey. I care about them because they're living things! And even if they never did anything to help me at all... they would still be worth caring about.
Also, I am very into the Bard calling Audrey out on hurting Miriam and telling her that they think that was "just evil". Show us that backbone, kid!
The King of Hearts
I knew Audrey's broken promise was coming due some spoiler I encountered somewhere or other (probably before I bought the game), but yeowch. Bard ;_; But at least the Bard made up with the Rainbow Girl...? I guess?
It did resolve some of the plot related questions I had though. Turns out the reason Audrey can't just let the Bard try to sing the Earthsong and kill the final Overseer if that doesn't work is because she doesn't want to - because it would mean she wasn't the Hero.
Also, I kind of love how childish the Bard's dialogue sounds when they get really mad.
It's an interesting take on the Chosen Hero trope, for sure. And I guess sometimes being really aggressively nice at people won't get them on your side. Sometimes people are just jerks. A good lesson. (Unless that part of the story is still coming.)
Chapter 7
I played through the first scene of this immediately after finishing chapter 6. before turning it off for the night and coming back the next day.
Langtree
Miriam: That's what's scary! This... is scary! Sharing... feelings!Oh, I feel you, Miriam.
And then we have the Bard confessing that they don't share their negative feelings because that wouldn't help anyone, oh no. And then they still don't share any! Only the teensiest little admission that they were hurt when Miriam left. I hope someday someone teaches this kid it's okay to be sad.
It's sad that Langtree is in ruins now (along with... the rest of the world) but it was nice to chat to all the villagers again, and find out that most of them actually do love the Bard and think they belong in Langtree. ;_;
And now (the next morning, for me)...
The Finale
Could not figure out this "boss battle" at all. My timing was off or something, I was managing maybe 1 out of every 10 attempts. But I guess I got enough hits in to 'win' anyway. I'm so glad this game is so generous with its (lack of) failure conditions.
For a second I thought maybe the Bard actually would be able to get through to Audrey... But I guess not! I think the relationship between the Bard and Audrey is a really interesting one, the Bard basically hates her on sight because the Bard really wants to be the Hero and thinks Audrey is doing it wrong. And at first, I think a lot of that hatred was really just them feeling not good enough. But they keep trying to connect with her anyway (at least partially because they think they can convince Audrey to come to the "let's at least try to save the universe first" side). And then... it doesn't work. Audrey isn't willing to push her own overwhelming desire to be the Hero aside.
Like I said earlier, some people are just jerks.
Fortunately this little failure of the message of love and peace is immediately forgotten in the face of the beautiful, unabashedly cliche "whole world singing in harmony" of the ending.
I love it.
And it's all tied up in the Bard being who they are, because they couldn't sing the Earthsong but it didn't matter because everyone loved them (and the world) enough to save it anyway. You're not nobody, little Bard!
The choir of singing flying seals was a definite highlight of the finale.
Also, Miriam taking the centre spotlight in the final group photo. You're not nobody either, Miriam!
And Eyala saying she's proud of both of them, oh no ;_;
The Farewell Tour
Chaandesh/Rulle:
I guess there are two people the Bard never managed to win over: Audrey, and the King's Guard from Rulle.
The Bard still thinks pirates are the best thing ever, and I love it.
Chismest:
Mom: You grew up without a father's love... Maybe that's why you turned out like... this.Um. I'm starting understand why the Bard isn't moving back in with their Mom, you know? (Despite the Wandersong Tumblr's assertion that the Bard is non-binary, I think the game is actually aiming for "deliberately ambiguous of gender", which makes the first part of this quote less, uh, weighted, and more about their general Bard-ness, but still... Yikes.)
Bard: ...
Mom: Muffin... even if you are very strange... you know your momma loves you, right?
And the Baron is their father but the Bard hasn't figured that out yet, so that's going to be awkward if the Bard ever does go home for a meal with them like their Mom is suggesting.
As an aside, since I haven't asked it yet: How old is the Bard? I mean, their mom looked pretty old... And they're obviously old enough to be living on their own in Langtree (did they... have a job??).
Edit: AND ALSO, if Chismest is their hometown, why didn't anyone in town seem to recognise them? If Vlad the bar owner was good friends with the Baron when he was "kind and gentle", why doesn't he recognise the Bard? Surely some of the people we meet in town would have known them when they were a kid? Until the Baron reveal I thought maybe the Bard's mom had moved to the town, but it wasn't where the Bard grew up. This is all extremely confusing.
Returning to the farewell tour…
Tatango:
In addition to re-joining the band, I really hope the Bard gets to travel with the pirates (and their new mermaid crew!) for a while.
Delphi:
We get to see the Delphi band again! And Ash is still sad about their mom, despite everything, which I think is a very realistic depiction of grief. I hope the Bard re-joins the band and travel the world with them when their awful new vocalist inevitably quits to go solo.
I'm glad we got to see the trolls again! And they even got Bard to express a vaguely negative sentiment about humanity, even if it was a "not ALL humans". Character development?
And Miriam's grandmother insisting the Bard joins them for dinner first ;_;
Langtree:
No final scene with anyone in Langtree, I suppose because we got that before The End. But I hope everyone in town still loves them now that the world isn't ending.
And Bard and Miriam get one final hug and the game doesn't try to make their relationship explictly romantic. GOOD JOB, GAME :D
Also, the Bard's little foot pop in the hug is the cutest thing. (Image from this Let's Play, which is also the source of all my quotes.)
After finishing the game, you get access to a scene select so I was able to go back and get the dance I missed, and I tell you what, I am so sad I wasn't able to play the entire finale act dabbing. (Image from this Let's Play again.)
Final Thoughts
I loved it, I have a few minor quibbles and I think a few things could have been handled a bit more sensitively, but overall it was just as positive-without-being-insipid as advertised and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it, even the frustrating platforming bits.
I have a lot of thoughts about positivity, and how it's hard to stay positive all the time, and I wish the game had delved a little deeper into the psychological toll this takes on the Bard. I think I'm more Bard than I am Miriam, although I probably fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
There's also a discussion to be had here about pacifism and tone arguments that I don't feel like getting into.
Finally, a really underrated aspect of the gameplay was how much fun it is to just run around harmonising with the background music.
PS: Yes, I unlocked the secret bit at the end, and now I guess I get to play it again with commentary :D
--
And now it's over. Am I going to stop posting about it now? I guess we'll have to find out.
(Maybe eventually someone else will play this game and want to talk about it with me?)
Edit 2019-06-07: Added a bit more to the chapter 7 section.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-07 04:35 pm (UTC)I like that Audrey actually doesn't turn good or keep her promise. It'd be too tidy if she did. Also, we didn't need spoiler to know she would. XD There won't be a story if she kept her promise.
(also, THIS CAPTCHA IS SOME IQ TEST OR WHAT)
no subject
Date: 2019-06-07 11:50 pm (UTC)I think it could have been interesting if Audrey had kept her promise not to kill the King of Hearts, and then have the Bard get the Earthsong piece and have to watch the King of Hearts become completely, irredeemably corrupted. It would really give the Bard something to think about! Would they then agree to let Audrey kill the Overseer? (This seems... unlikely.) I feel like the "giving up the Earthsong corrupts the Overseers" plotline really got swept under the rug.
But I'm a little conflicted either way, like: Audrey's arc ends up pushing her into the villain role by the end, whereas I liked it more when she was raising the question of which outcome would really be best for the world (even though I hate those questions). Having her reject Eyala's suggestion that they wait to see if the Bard succeeds first really put her in a less sympathetic light.
On the other hand, having her come around to the Bard's point of view in the end would have been even more cheesy than the actual ending *sweatdrop*
You could get a Dreamwidth account! They're free! Or I think the LJ OpenID option might still work, I dunno, I haven't logged into LJ since they changed their TOS.