You need to play Stray Gods
Finally, a game from a "Former so and so devs" that is good... and it was a game from last year.
In 2023, Summerfall studios, a game dev filled with past Bioware devs (one of my favorite devs if that isn't obvious), put out Stray Gods: The Role-playing Musical. I had never heard of it until I was in a thread that was talking about Casey Hudson’s studio Humanoid Origin closing without a game being put out. Stray Gods was put forward by some people as a game put out by one of the "former such and such" devs that was actually good. So I grabbed it during the Fall sale on steam and once I finished Kingdom Hearts 2, I jumped in. And what a different game Stray Gods is. I'm a fan of the occasional Visual Novel, I adore the Danganronpa games, and this one hit the spot. Although, to call it a Visual Novel is to do it an immense disservice to the decisions you are able to make in it while in Visual Novels you have essentially no deviation from the story and conversations that play out. And since I'm Greek and adore most anything that has to do with Greek Mythology (Percy Jackson was my favorite book series as a Kid) I knew I'd adore it and how right I was.
The Good
The game kicks off as many games do, with a murder, always a good way to kick off a story, and it does the characteristic fish out of water story trope and I actually really appreciate it. You are Grace, a lead singer in a band and are holding tryouts. Randomly, after your band mates leave for the night and you do a little song, you meet Calliope and sing together, then hours later at your apartment she crashes through the door and dies in your arms. Her Eidolon comes out and goes into your body and makes you a God, an Idol, a Muse, and the Chorus of God's (Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Persephone) decide you have to die because you're not allowed to be a God when you're a possible murderer even though you aren't. You're then given the chance to prove your innocence by solving the murder. The opening is genuinely interesting and the songs are very well done and flow well and convey exactly what they're supposed to do. It's great and is something that, if you're a fan of visual novels, then you'll likely enjoy it. Honestly the game instantly reminded me of The Wolf Among Us but without walking around gameplay and the annoying telltale quick time event gameplay. Which is a good thing for so many reasons, I loved The Wolf Among Us so this is high praise from me and that’s just the beginning.
The great thing about this game is that when it gets going, it goes hard. The Greek Mythology and personality that isn't embedded in that, is bursting off the screen. The music provides extra depth for the characters, Gods included. Even without the music, it'd be an incredibly intriguing game and world but the music simply enhances the experience, it provides context to the world you are learning about in a way that is unique.
The Musical aspect is also not just a gimmick. It's actually a core part of the game, because Grace is a Muse, and a Muse is god who specializes in the arts, meaning you're able to use your powers to your advantage. That allows you to essentially sing your interrogations.
That starts with Pan teaching you the ropes and I loved the Idea of being a Muse and using that to my advantage. Almost like Bigby using his Big Bad Wolf aspect to his advantage in The Wolf Among Us. The thing is, the only reason both you and the people you're talking to sing are because of your powers as a Muse. If you weren't one, things would be different. I really really liked how all this was communicated and the context behind the singing instead of it just being a gimmick.
Cat film student time: the framing of some shots and the communication between the Director and the player are very well done. I think, especially after my issues with Kingdom Hearts 2, this game has the consistent directing in the shot composition that I wish was more prevalent in other games. I think the great thing about film is that it can communicate things to you that would be hard to get if not for the structure of the shots themselves. In order to make a good cutscene, or scene in general, you have to be able to understand what you need to tell the player, but also how you can tell them things without direct discussion. Some of the best moments in this game are the moments when nothing is said. And there are moments of playing with aspect ratios, similar to Christopher Nolan films. In the majority of the game it is full-screen, but then during the songs they zoom in to letterbox which makes the player feel like the song is more personal, it makes you more invested because it pulls you in. Any time the aspect ratio changes, you know something is happening, so you sit forward in your chair to get ready for the some of the good stuff. The best comparison I can make is to The Dark Knight Rises where the aspect ratio is messed with to make you feel different, feel like the scene is more intimate and to draw your eyes to specific areas, similar to Stray Gods.
Take this shot for instance, it takes place just as Grace meets Persephone at her club. The camera is at a Canted Angle to make the player feel uneasy about this meeting and Persephone towers over Grace showing she believes Grace is nothing but a bug in her way that she could squash with her little finger. She has her arms crossed because she isn’t just on guard around Grace but in general, particularly with Apollo in the background. Grace is looking up at her showing she is going up against a force of nature and the aspect ratio is wide so you as a player can feel how big the crowd is, can feel how the confrontation in the shot is in the sea of the crowd and that it's simply one of many things going on in the club. The shot composition in this shot is just wonderful and it is repeated throughout the entire game. The Directing is superb.
The writing is also damn good. I think that the team at Summerfall really knew what the characters needed to say and what they needed to leave unsaid. They knew how to write a mystery, how to get the pacing perfect, how to write interesting characters that obviously have a personality that you don't even get to fully grasp and that they have a life that you're only seeing a small portion of. The game is structured in a way that makes you as a player learn what's going on in a very effective way while also allowing you to meet new characters with their own stories throughout the game. The use of the "fish out of water" trope is also incredibly useful in the story as a whole. Just like in the original Star Wars, we are informed about the different aspects of the world through the fact that our stand in is completely new to the world. It allows us to have everything explained to us without feeling like your character is an idiot. The fish out of water trope can be done badly, but this one is done very well. Especially since Grace is such a well written and acted character. So many times I found myself laughing, smiling at the emotion expressed through the superb acting, and really enjoying the wit from Grace and the relationship she develops with the Gods. It's just so damn good.
Going off of that, as a fan of Greek Mythology, the great thing about this game is that it does a very good job of representing the Gods and the Mythology while also putting forward brand new interpretations of their world. Hermes is just as aloof and chill as usual (plus they're trans and, if you have read my writing before, you know I love well done representation), Athena is the knowledgeable one who likes to be as logical as possible even to a fault, Apollo is an absolute wreck and surfer boy, Persephone hates the other gods for how they abandoned her when she was kidnapped by Hades, Aphrodite is scarred by the memories of WWII where Ares told the Nazis about the Gods existence and then she was captured by said Nazis and tortured so every so often when she remembers her past memories she decides to die and pass on her Eidolon to a successor, Pan is mysterious and indirect and clever and hard to pin down, and Eros is a someone who has become depressed that all he inspires after all this time is sex as opposed to the love he used to strive for. The Gods fit many of their mythological characteristics and then add some interesting depth to make you feel like you’re learning about them even if you already knew about the Mythology. They're people that have a history and it's incredibly enjoyable and interesting to develop your own relationships with them and to learn about how this Wolf Among Us like world works.
A very interesting part of this that I really enjoyed are that the Gods pass on their Eidolon, by dying and then a new person becomes them. This means that the new person changes who the God is in some way, the prior version of the God continues but the new people who take on that role add on their own experiences. It's a very interesting concept that I really enjoyed and had a lot of interesting implications behind it.
For instance, in normal Greek Mythology, there are 9 Muses, but this game puts forward the idea that there were ever only 3 and that the mortals simply got confused by the passing their Eidolon to new people. Its a very interesting mythological twist that I rather enjoyed as someone who has been in love with Greek Mythology since I was a child.
Finally, At the beginning of the game you get to decide what kind of Grace you want. There are three options, Charming, Kick-ass, and Clever. They determine what kind of unique dialogue options you have access to when they pop up every so often. Then, just before you meet Athena in Act 2 you get to pick another trait. I initially thought that you were only going to get that one trait and that would have been a negative to me, but when I got to pick that second trait I suddenly felt much better about the system. It's a good feeling to be able to not be stuck for the whole game into just the one trait, being able to have Grace grow not just as a character but as your player insert is really enjoyable.
The Bad...?
This is something fundamental to the game that isn't awful, but leaves me wanting. I wish I could walk around. I know this is billed as an interactive experience, not a normal videogame, but I still wish I had been able to walk around these environments. They are so intriguing, they have so many interesting details in them, I want to look around them dammit. This didn't impact my experience with the game, but again, it left me wanting. That said, the pacing would have been messed up with the ability to walk around so while I wish I could have that exploration experience, it likely would have taken something out of the game. Made it into something different.
The Ending
**Some of these things are based on my decisions in the game so some might be different depending on your own playthrough, but the culprit will not change**
So who dunnit? After hours of not knowing, you go to the underworld, and eventually meet Calliope (surprise the Eidolon isn't the soul) and she divulges that Apollo had a prophecy that Athena asked for so she could save the Idols from extinction and it was that "the idols cannot continue as long as the last muse lives". To which Apollo was horrified by and ended up telling Calliope about, which locked her into the prophecy. So she went to the reliquary where Athena sent the Furies after her and they killed her. So who dunnit? Athena dunnit because she wanted to save the Idols.
You then get to confront Athena in front of all of the remaining Idols on Old Olympus in the climactic and showstopping Musical number that, of course, is the best one of the bunch. The Idols you've come to care for over the course of the game all stand beside you to defend you from Athena summoning the Furies. Its beautiful and of course made me cry.
Athena realizes she fucked up, that she isn’t the same as she once was, that she put her desire to stop the prophecy in front of what was best for the idols and that maybe she shouldn't have. Then you get to punch her and depose her from her role as leading the Chorus. Athena leaves as the Idols look on with disappointed and angry faces. Then the remnants of the Chorus decide to disband and to reveal their existence to the Mortal world. Cut to black.
Two months have passed, Grace is the spokesperson for the Idols and appearing on news stations and everything and traveling around the country. Persephone is gonna sell her club and help the Idols leave Olympus and come along with Grace. Athena has vanished after the announcement the Idols exist and she seems to have left for the Old Country to find Zeus. Hermes is a social media darling and influencer even having their face on billboards. Pan has gone back to the shadows and is laying low for a time. Venus and Eros are being political activists and holding rallies. Hecatate and Asterion are enjoying being together, and Apollo is gonna leave the city and do...something. Finally, there is the ending song between Persephone and Grace, it's a lovely send off.
The ending was incredibly satisfying, I enjoyed every bit of it. It's hard to find anything I would critique, it was just lovely and the perfect ending to the game. Plus, setting up the possible Sequel with a tease of Zeus made me desperately hope that we get a sequel in the next couple years because I desperately want more of this world.
The Conclusion
Stray Gods is not a long game, my playthrough lasted 8 hours. It tells its story, let's you feel for the characters and particularly for Grace, then wraps up in a way that is both satisfying and leaving you wanting more, but that is often some of the best games and films. You are left wanting more because of how good it is. The game is filled with character, with love, with interesting choices, and with writing that just makes you enjoy every moment. I loved it.
If you want a game from a studio of "former so and so" devs that is actually good, Stray Gods is an amazing example of how that can be successful and fantastic, not necessarily because the devs were from a great studio before, but because of the vision and love put into the game. You shouldn't play Stray Gods because it came from a studio of former Bioware devs, you should play Stray Gods because it's an amazing experience that is enjoyable from beginning to end. Play it. Enjoy it. Enjoy the characters, the story, the mystery, the musical numbers, and the choices you get to make.
Meow,
Cat