I've noticed that there have been much more blatant "horror" moments in the last two episodes. The biggest examples:
1) the ending sequence of Lead Heart. I understand this needing to be impactful due to the shock of Eunhwa's death, but the way it was treated still bugs me, particularly the recurring shot of Eunhwa's body (which I'll get back to later).
2) the missing organs of the elk in Missing Cargo. I'm sure the meaning of this will be revealed in the future, but again it's the treatment. Jae goes out of his way to tell us how freaked out he is; he didn't do that about most things in S1, especially the dead marmots which are comparable.
3) the shot of Captain Na at the end of Missing Cargo. Just like the shot of Eunhwa's body, this is definitely meant for cinematic purposes of evoking horror. Compare it to the depictions of Kim Seo in S1 - he's a serial killer but wasn't shown in such a purposely strange manner.
After playing Missing Cargo, I'm getting the impression that S2 is going in a tonal direction I might not enjoy. One of my favorite aspects of S1 was how it maintained a steady POV by showing events through characters' eyes, right down to Jihoon's coming to wrong conclusions. There were of course moments of scenery shown from different POVs, but as a whole I felt as if I was within the story. Here in S2, the presentation has become more cinematic (how exactly could Jae see down to Na's face like that otherwise?); there is also the growing emphasis on "horror" moments. I'm a wimp! I don't like horror movies at all, and because of this I adored the "thriller" aspects of S1. Rather than trying to scare with visuals, S1 relied on untold information and mystery. There were occasional heavier moments, but they were presented as realistic shocks rather than emphasized and exaggerated (take for example the shot of Daehan's body compared to Eunhwa's, or the way Kim Seo was shown in the confrontation on the docks as a menacing figure towering over the fallen Jae compared to the way Na was purposely placed in an odd camera angle and given an odd expression to make her creepy to the player). It felt like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, while S2 is beginning to take on characteristics of a horror anime.
So that is my problem. If S2 continues to go for the "horror" angle, I may stop playing. S1 is still an incredible experience that I absolutely love. S2 started promisingly but has begun to lose me a bit. (I also feel like Fortune Seeker's goals and the information surrounding their work have become more clouded with time, but that's a topic for another post!)
Anyway, I'm mainly posting to express my concerns, and to compare things so that my criticism can possibly be taken constructively. I'm sure that I'm in a minority, since a lot of people enjoy horror, but I wanted to explain my problem nonetheless.
To finish up, I'm curious - is this tonal shift being done on purpose? I know the developers take feedback from fans, so were there a lot of requests for creepier or more intense moments?
Thanks for reading! :)
1) the ending sequence of Lead Heart. I understand this needing to be impactful due to the shock of Eunhwa's death, but the way it was treated still bugs me, particularly the recurring shot of Eunhwa's body (which I'll get back to later).
2) the missing organs of the elk in Missing Cargo. I'm sure the meaning of this will be revealed in the future, but again it's the treatment. Jae goes out of his way to tell us how freaked out he is; he didn't do that about most things in S1, especially the dead marmots which are comparable.
3) the shot of Captain Na at the end of Missing Cargo. Just like the shot of Eunhwa's body, this is definitely meant for cinematic purposes of evoking horror. Compare it to the depictions of Kim Seo in S1 - he's a serial killer but wasn't shown in such a purposely strange manner.
After playing Missing Cargo, I'm getting the impression that S2 is going in a tonal direction I might not enjoy. One of my favorite aspects of S1 was how it maintained a steady POV by showing events through characters' eyes, right down to Jihoon's coming to wrong conclusions. There were of course moments of scenery shown from different POVs, but as a whole I felt as if I was within the story. Here in S2, the presentation has become more cinematic (how exactly could Jae see down to Na's face like that otherwise?); there is also the growing emphasis on "horror" moments. I'm a wimp! I don't like horror movies at all, and because of this I adored the "thriller" aspects of S1. Rather than trying to scare with visuals, S1 relied on untold information and mystery. There were occasional heavier moments, but they were presented as realistic shocks rather than emphasized and exaggerated (take for example the shot of Daehan's body compared to Eunhwa's, or the way Kim Seo was shown in the confrontation on the docks as a menacing figure towering over the fallen Jae compared to the way Na was purposely placed in an odd camera angle and given an odd expression to make her creepy to the player). It felt like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, while S2 is beginning to take on characteristics of a horror anime.
So that is my problem. If S2 continues to go for the "horror" angle, I may stop playing. S1 is still an incredible experience that I absolutely love. S2 started promisingly but has begun to lose me a bit. (I also feel like Fortune Seeker's goals and the information surrounding their work have become more clouded with time, but that's a topic for another post!)
Anyway, I'm mainly posting to express my concerns, and to compare things so that my criticism can possibly be taken constructively. I'm sure that I'm in a minority, since a lot of people enjoy horror, but I wanted to explain my problem nonetheless.
To finish up, I'm curious - is this tonal shift being done on purpose? I know the developers take feedback from fans, so were there a lot of requests for creepier or more intense moments?
Thanks for reading! :)
Sunny plz
