My Apology to the Grizzled Boor

 Dear Grizzled Boor,
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to beat you up. I didn't want to beat you up. I just had to, that's all. I mean, it was part of the game. Well okay, that's not true. It was an optional sidequest, but pretty much a necessity unless I wanted to cheat the game or wait a month. It's not my fault the developers made that specific sidequest so necessary for beating the game in a reasonable amount of time. You are such a cool guy, and I wanted you to know that kicking your butt was nothing personal, and I have felt terrible about it ever since.
*sigh* okay. That first paragraph was a little disjointed. Let me start from the beginning.


I recieved Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP as part of the Humble Indie Bundle. I played through a few of the other games, and decided to give yours a shot. I had no idea what I was in for, what the game was, or that I would meet you, the Grizzled Boor, one of my new favorite characters in video games. Sword and Sworcery was an indie game developed for the iWhatevers, and was recently ported to PC by way of Steam.
After a brief conversation with the game's narrator, who you know as The Archetype, I found myself in the shoes of a girl known only as the Scythian, who was in the midst of a "woeful" quest to seal away an ancient evil that many had failed to do so before. I am sure you know more about the game's backstory than I do, Mr. Boor. It's not really elaborated on that much within the game itself. The dialogue expounds just enough to give you a idea of what is going on without delving into Zelda-levels of mythology. This is fine, given the game's short length. Too much back story would have been overwhelming in a small package, so what your game gave us is perfect.
The world you live in is an interesting one, Mr. Grizzled Boor, and I did much before I met you. SB: S&S EP is a point-and-click adventure game, although mildly so. When I first entered your world, I was rather confused. The game is controlled exclusively with the mouse. This is to translate the touch-screen of the iDevices that it was originally developed for. I had no idea about this at first, and there aren't any instructions in the game, so when I stepped into the Scythian's boots for the first time, it took me several minutes just to figure out how to move. After hammering keys and clicking randomly for several minutes, I gave up and found a walkthrough. Having to use a guide just to figure out how to get started was not the best first impression. Fortunately, it got much better before I met you.

Once I had walking down (double click to walk to a point, click and hold to walk consistently) I started to explore your world. The game is framed in four chapters, or "sessions," three of which you are encouraged to complete in one sitting, and you are exited from the main menu after each one. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from going right back into the game, and quitting in the middle of a session then coming back will just make you pop up on the same screen you quit at.
The bulk of the gameplay consists of exploration. As the Scythian, I had to explore the woods at the foot of the Mingi Taw, a mountain that housed the evil spirit that you know as the Golgothic Mass. With the help of a couple living in the woods and an ancient magical book called the Megatome, I (as the Scythian) needed to tame three magical artifacts called the Trigons to seal the evil away.
Obviously, being a point-and-click adventure, SB: S&S EP has its puzzles as well. Being that you are the Grizzled Boor, an anthropomorphic bear from mystical dream world, I don't expect you to understand what I mean when I talk about "computers" and "iDevices," so please bare with me. The puzzle solving is the most obvious carry-over from the game's development as a touch screen game. Pretty much all of the puzzles consist of entering "sworcery mode" and clicking on various objects in the environment, sometimes in a specific order.
"Sworcery mode" does little other than change the color of the mouse cursor and make the Scythian able to interact with things that she otherwise could not interact with. The stuff that you need to click on can range from glaringly obvious (owls, which only appear once in the entire game and just so happen to be the thing you need to click on for that puzzle) to frustrating (a specific bush, of which there are literally dozens on almost every screen in the game.) Occasionally sworcery mode puzzle solving has the Scythian do a couple other cool things, like pull apart a broken tree or move the reflection of the moon. On the whole, puzzle solving isn't very complicated or deep. Much like the backstory, it is the perfect size for this delightful little package of a game that the Grizzled Boor calls home.

There is another element to your game world as well, something that is a sad reminder of what I was forced to do to you, Grizzled Boor. I'm talking about the combat, something that I know you are well versed in, since you and I eventually ended up clashing. Again, sorry about that. In the real world, Mr. Grizzled Boor, there is another game that combat in your game kind of reminded me of. It is a weird one, one that you would not expect a fantasy point-and-click like this to be compared to. Have you ever heard of it, Mr. Grizzled Boor? It's called "Punch Out."
 Fights start out sparse and get more common as the game goes on. There are only a couple scripted battles in the beginning until late in the game when a demon starts popping up at random. There is no levelling or anything; like I said, it is more like Punch Out. There are two icons on screen: a dodge/defend button and an attack button. Battles are fought by defending or evading the enemy's attacks until they leave themselves open, then swiping with the sword. It is simple and exciting, keeping you on your toes while still mainting the bite-sized sincerity that everything else in the game captures so well.
The boss fights, or the closest thing that SB: S&S EP has to a boss fight, are a little bit different. Rather than having a couple moves, bosses go through a pre-determined routine of multiple different attacks that players like myself have to react to, but it is identical every single time, making it more like a long, complex quick-time event than the dynamic fights with smaller enemies.

These are just the things that led up to our inevitable encounter, Mr. Grizzled Boor. I say all this because I simply wanted you to see things from my perspective. I'm writing this article as an apology to you, Mr. Boor, because I have a lot respect for you. It is absolutely not a review of the game you are a part of, meant to inform and offer my opinion to other members of gaming website. The sole purpose here is to reconcile our differences. I have a lot of respect for you, Mr. Grizzled Boor. Despite having a very minor role in the game (no offense,) you are actually my favorite character.
Remember the first time we met? I, as the Scythian, had just entered the "dream" half of the game. I walked down a path, and there you were hiding in the bushes, humming a little tune and dancing around. I realize you're a pretty shy guy, and the way you ran off means I probably frightened you, so if so, I'm sorry. I just wanted to get close. The way you were dancing and singing was hillarious, and gave you a shot of personality that spoke volumes in such a short period of time, characterizing you in the same way that the rest of the characters get a dose of personality through subtle things.
Your design is quite well done, I might add. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not hitting on you or anything. I'm no furry. I'm just saying that the pixelated art style of the game is gorgeous. It's a departure from the cute, chubby sprites of most pixel games, going instead for a thin, saturated style that gives me a sense of deja vu, looking vaguely familiar but barely escaping my mind as to where I might have seen it before.
The environments are sprawling, detailed, and gorgeous, albeit not quite varied. Most of the scenery is forest, with an occasional cave. They still look great, as do the animals. I've always been a sucker for pixels and throwbacks. You and your forest dwelling peers are dead on in your own way. Another cool feature of your world is the way the super-natural elements transcend this style. I'm not sure if you noticed, but the legendary Trigons, and the sprites that are the focus of most of the puzzles, look much smoother and more modern by comparison, which goes hand-in-hand with their otherworldly properties.
The only place where the graphics in your world may falter is with the designs of the humans, like the Scythian that I controlled when I fought you. There is nothing necessarily bad about them. The style looks unique, and fits in perfectly from a distant view. The minimalist approach makes the lack of details somehow more detailed. However, some of the poses just look odd, and in extreme close-ups, the blocky bodies and lanky, twisting limbs can make their sprites teater on the edge of the uncanny valley.

Another thing I like about you is that tune you keep humming. "Da da-da da DA! Da da-da da DA!" It's a catchy, if slightly off-key little ditty that adds more charm to your character, Grizzled Boor. That's to be expected, as the music and sound design in your world are phenomenal. Canadian musician Jim Guthrie worked closely with the development team and gets top billing throughout. You know him from his in-game cameo appearance, don't you? Yeah, you've met him. He hangs out in the woods on the other side of the lake from your house.
It must be pretty nice living in a world that has such great tunes everywhere. Some of the songs are melodic, while others are pounding, and others are barely there, all in the right places. I try not to use the term "epic," but the boss fight music and the Trigon-activating music are powerful and intense, sending chills down my spine and enhancing any feelings of triumph. In particular, remember how I described the boss fight routines before? The entire fight actually syncs with the music. The melody gets stronger as the fight goes on, climaxing just as the boss launches its ultimate attack, before modulating to a major key during the victory animation. It matches up perfectly and helps to make the battle both intense and satisfying.
 Of course, the soft ambient tracks fit just as well as their rocking counterparts, being fittingly soothing during a walk through the meadow, or haunting during a trek to a cliffside ruin. On top of that, the sound effects, especially during the sworcery mode puzzles, have a certain musical quality to them. They are often in the key as the background music, so interacting with them is like tapping bells along with the music. The sound design is perfect, and the constant music-centered imagery, make it clear that SB: S&S EP  was built with music in mind (I mean, "EP" is even in the name, for crying out loud.)

Another thing that your world was apparently built around, Mr. Grizzled Boor, is twitter. I'm not sure if you noticed, since you don't do much communicating, but all of the dialogue in the world is Twitter-friendly. The narrator openly encourages communicating with other people in real life through Twitter. Every piece of dialogue in the game is presented in small tweet-length chunks. Even long conversations are made of pieces of text that are under 140 characters. Players can link the game to their Twitter accounts, and there is an omnipresent button that can be used to instantly re-tweet any line of dialogue in the game. I do not have Twitter, so I never used the feature, but any potential future players might be interested if they like social networking.
Even the in-game hint system is built around twitter, giving players like me a subscriptions to other characters that we can access at any point, like looking at somebody's tweets. Even the style of the dialogue merges the fantasy realm of the game with the modern dialogue of tech-savvy social networkers. It gives characters a charm all their own. It isn't uncommon to see alliterative, Shakespearean level  sentence structure, followed by the character muttering "it was so cool!" or "it was totally freaky!" It makes the entire game snarkily self aware and can lead to some chuckles, even laugh-out-loud guffaws.

 There is one more major aspect of the game that comes into play in the second half. This is the elephant in the room, Mr. Grizzled Boor, the very thing that led us to our feud to begin with. As you know, the developers tied our worlds together by making events in your world depend on the moon phases. The thing is, the phase of your moon in-game directly depends on the phase of my moon in real life. It is in perfect sync, and changes in real time. Since one major event requires the full moon to take place, and the other requires a new moon, you can see how this caused a problem for me.
See, I am a gamer, which is I why I decided to step into the role of the Scythian and explore your world to begin with. I wanted to experience this entire adventure. This moon feature puts the brakes on my experience. I wasn't too fond of the idea of putting the brakes on the game for a whole month just to wait for the moon phase to occur naturally. Fortunately, there are two ways to circumvent this. One would have been to change the date on my computer's clock, although the game would have called me out on that one.
The other was the side quest. The most unpleasant sidequest I have ever experienced in a game. We both knew all about the secret moon room. And we both knew that you had the key. Look, I didn't want to do it, okay? When I found you, Mr. Grizzled Boor, I expected you to talk to me. To offer the key to me if I could defeat you in battle. But you didn't. I just walked in, taking you by surprise... I realize that now. Mr. Grizzled Boor, I am so sorry.
I can't imagine the pain I must have put you through. I still remember those desperate whimperings after I had defeated you, with the option to finish you off permanently laid out before me. I didn't, of course. Why would I? You're the coolest dude in the game! But still, I can only imagine the fear you had in that moment, and in that moment, I felt like a complete monster.
I don't mean to cause an existential crisis or anything, but did you know that the narrator actually said that you were programmed into this game so that the player could feel good about themselves for letting you live? But how could I? I hunted you down, found in your house minding your own business. You know, just dancing around and enjoying life. Then I, I, assaulted you. And stole your key as you limped away, barely clinging to life. And I am supposed to feel good because I chose not to make things worse?

The guilt plagues me, Grizzled Boor. I am so sorry. This is the ultimate apology. I am SO sorry. When I saw you again later in the game, I was so relieved that you were alive. I never wanted you hurt you, Grizzled Boor. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, then I want you to know that I truly, honestly respect you. I think you are a pretty radical guy who managed to become one of my favorite game characters by doing nothing but dancing and humming.
I have something else to apologize for, too. You see, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP is a gem of a game. It's short and sweet. It is unique, but not groundbreaking. Intriguing, although it isn't deep or enthralling. It is more like having a high-end soft drink at a restaurant than buying a regular old six-pack of Pepsi. Gourmet, but fleeting. It is an interesting experience that I would happily recommend to my fellow gamers in order to tempt their tastebuds with something tantalizing and refreshing.
The sad thing is, if anyone does take my advice, that means that they, too, might be forced down the same path of darkness that I was. That is why I have to apologize to you, Grizzled Boor. I may have sent more pain your way.
I hope you can forgive me. I have nothing but undying respect and admiration for you. You are cool guy. Maybe, if I should ever play through Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP again, maybe things will be different. Maybe we can be friends.
Yours Sincerely,
Adam, aka LightingandIce (playing as the Scythian.)
PS. The game normally goes for about eight bucks on Steam. Despite being a good game, this might be a little high considering it only takes about three to four hours to complete. I also have a hard time justifying more than a couple of dollars for an iPhone app, which is exactly what this is, just ported to the PC. Especially since it is cheaper on those platforms. Still, if any gamers are interested in the Steam version, you can save a couple bucks if you get it during the current Summer Games Sale, so if anyone has any interest in it, they should check it out.