Spoiler Mode - The Missing
Added 2018-12-05 19:28:51 +0000 UTChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXrjB2I1U8
Ian and Ben discuss the surprising and powerful game The Missing.
Comments
Happy to finally get to watch this!
Tyler Travis
2019-01-03 15:59:33 +0000 UTCVery eye opening
Jaylyn brooks
2018-12-06 02:12:46 +0000 UTCSwery games have that... effect on people. Once I finished Deadly Premonition, a hugely flawed masterpiece, I felt like the end of summer camp. Like I met an amazing new friend and I will never ever see them again. And that's for the best? No promises of letters or plans of coming back next year, never fighting or slowly losing contact, never growing tired of the quirks you found entertaining enough in the short time together, no sequels. I miss Deadly Premonition like a person if you get what I mean? All flaws and oddities and love. It's still there, I could play it again, but it's done to me, I love to talk about and reminisce about it. The Missing has that similar vibe. That there's SOMETHING there in it's sum, that all the parts made something bigger somehow but I can't grasp it. I want to know what other's think of it, I wanna talk about it. I want to hear interpretations of it (like yours, exploring themes and symbology), to talk about what it meant to them (like this spoiler mode!) but not for people to try and "solve" each minutia of it (like a Game Theory video, telling me it was all time travel for some nitpicky reason or something). Maybe one day Swery will get another real budget, D4 ran great, probably his most polished work, shame he never got to finish it.
ChristineDraws
2018-12-06 02:03:35 +0000 UTCNice pick for a spoiler mode
VGJunky
2018-12-05 23:42:00 +0000 UTCI really did not expect a Spoiler Mode for this, glad I played it through beforehand.
Cathal Fallon
2018-12-05 23:20:35 +0000 UTCSpoilers for the game in my text wall. You have been warned. I'm really conflicted about this game; not really sure if I like it more than I want to or less than I want. The story is by far and away the best thing about it, but even then I'm not in love. Yes, it touches on subjects and themes are not that present in other games but I don't think it's enough to compensate for the plainly tedious gameplay. It is physically painful to play this game. The controls are stiff and awkward. Jumps feel imprecise and often I was just “hoping” my jump would land. The puzzles are decent, but not anything that special. Even though the "dismemberment" mechanic is unique on paper, the way it ends up working in practice is something you've seen a hundred times before. Touch this thing => get item to progress. Touch this thing => activate device needed to progress. The animations are ludicrously slow. When you first see the bone break recovery animation, it feels quite visceral. By the 10th time, you're over it. By the 50th time, you want to snap your neck in real life. There were a few times I wanted to just hard quit the game because I had to do a section multiple times and I was just NOT having fun (I ended up putting on a podcast at some points to get me through the tedium). But I pushed through, because the mystery, atmosphere, and characters had me on the hook and I wanted to know more. This aspect is where the game's greatest strengths lie. First is how the characters talk to each other. While many, many other games have used text messages to deliver story, The Missing is on a whole different level with how natural and engaging the conversations are. The characters talk to each other like they're real young people, using plenty of slang and LINE stickers to express themselves. Even though some lines feel awkward in the translation, if you're a huge weeb (like me) you can kind of "reverse translate" to get the intended effect (so it also helps if you know some Japanese). Second is the unsettling yet compelling atmosphere exuded on every screen. The moose doctor epitomizes this, being both incredibly disturbing yet fascinating: you want to know more just as much as you want to get away. Third would be how much the environment reinforces the game's themes, very much reminiscent of Silent Hill. The body part puzzle, representing JJ's feelings that she was "put together wrong", and the baby monsters, representing JJ's feelings of resentment toward being an "heir" to the family, are two great examples of the symbolism, of which there is plenty. It is quite an achievement that the game makes you care so much about JJ and her struggles despite explicit story beats being few and far between. And yet, in spite of where the game succeeds, I would hesitate to describe this game as truly "unique". Yes, it does things that are uncommon, but so much of this game is found in other games (or media), and done so much better at that. Like, compare this game to Celeste, a true 10/10. Not only are the platforming and puzzles in Celeste fantastic in a way The Missing can’t even compare, but Celeste also touches on similar themes of depression, anxiety, and accepting who you are. On top of that, Celeste is *also* similar in that these themes are communicated through the mechanics and level design, in addition to what is directly presented to the player. Thus, it's hard to earnestly sing the praises of this game when it falls short of its contemporaries in so many ways. Especially when compared against other media outside of video games that focus on feelings of ostracization and being "abnormal". The way people react to JJ's secret hits hard, but I don't think I was ever hit as hard as some of the scenes in, for example, Koe no Katachi, a manga series about a deaf girl wanting to feel "normal". It's a true shame, because if the gameplay were just a slight bit better ("decent" instead of "bad") the game as a whole would be a much tighter experience where the bright spots would outshine the flaws instead of being bogged down by them. And yet and yet, I can't get this game out of my head. In spite of the jank, I 100%-ed the game so I was clearly invested in seeing all the game had to show. I finished this game about two weeks ago now and I still think about it all the time. Whenever I'm reminded of it, either seeing it mentioned on the internet, in my search history, or seeing it in my library, I get this emotional reaction in my gut. A huge part of this is the LGBT themes, which is another point where the game deserves praise. I would call myself cishet but not exactly the straightest arrow, so I could relate to JJ's struggles even if they're not 1-to-1. While the game is very upfront about being LGBT, the reveal that JJ is a trans woman does come as a shock. Initially, the game appears to be about a lesbian relationship, given how JJ and Emily act coupled with the texts with certain characters referencing homophobia and "abnormal relationships". However, once you learn JJ's actual secret, there's basically a huge turn. Some snippets of conversation which might have seemed a little out of place but not that important take on a whole new meaning. The enemies stop being weird for weirdness sake and become representations of JJ's dysphoria and self-loathing. And finally, once you finish the game, you unlock the ability to play the game looking like JJ does in the real world. But JJ still moves, jumps, and talks the same, even if her appearance and voice are different. This is not a "male" JJ. This is Jackie as she is in reality, finally comfortable with being herself. I consume a lot of media with LGBT characters and themes, so believe me when I say that The Missing is pretty top-tier when it comes to presenting LGBT themes in an impactful and meaningful way, especially concerning trans issues. In summary, I don't think The Missing is a game that everyone should play; there are just too many faults to recommend wholeheartedly. However, if you are queer or enjoy queer content, I would say definitely push through because the game has a lovely message, ultimately. If you don't care about that, check it out if you're looking for a unique story with a creepy vibe and that's more important than engaging gameplay. Who knows? You might even find yourself seeking other LGBT stories after experiencing this one. P.S. Yeesh this was a long one. I've (clearly) got a lot of thoughts on this game. Since my IRL friends aren't really interested and the game is so niche that there's very little online discussion, I needed to get my thoughts out now while I had the chance. If you actually read this, thank you. P.P.S. JJ is about 100x cuter with short hair. Come at me.
Arnesh Nagavalli
2018-12-05 22:59:59 +0000 UTCThe mechanics are cool, but the game feels clunky. If it wasn’t about a trans character it would not receive much if any attention.
Tom Smith
2018-12-05 22:18:21 +0000 UTCThank you for introducing me to this game
Jacob K
2018-12-05 21:32:52 +0000 UTCGonna need to add "commas of gameplay" to my lexicon - great succinct description from Ben
faqsimil
2018-12-05 20:12:52 +0000 UTCDammit! Now I have to go buy this.
Tyler Travis
2018-12-05 19:34:18 +0000 UTCUnexpected. Cool!
Eric Grynberg
2018-12-05 19:30:42 +0000 UTC
