i watched one of my friends play zero ranger the other day and i thought it was cool enough that i picked up void stranger along with another one of my friends. my impressions so far are that i really want to get into the thick of things but i think the "front" that this game puts up before showing its hand for real is way too fucking long. over 200 floors of puzzles to initially "beat" the game before the real sauce manifests itself. i just don't think the sokoban is carrying as much as it needs to for this. i got halfway through on a run but then i accidentally got a secret ending that sent me back to the beginning after watching some shit go down that i'm sure would feel like a huge revelation if i had any idea what was going on to that point. i think i'm back at the 80s now and i'm feeling exhausted.
i like games that do this type of thing! tunic is one of the best games i've played in recent memory. while i didn't play it myself, fear and hunger's conceit and scope drew me in despite it being The Most Content Warning Thing Ever. the main difference i'm feeling here is that with those games either the "veil" was more interesting upfront, or it didn't take as long for you to get those major peeks at the labyrinth underneath.
since this post i've gotten what i'm going to assume is the sort of "default" ending for anyone going in blind. the things that you learn/obtain from a subsequent playthrough are definitely interesting (and help make the repeat playthrough less miserable), but i still maintain my opinion that the base game was too long for its own good
