I don’t know how much I have to say this time, pleasant dreamers. I’ve gone through two hours right now, and have reached the Architect’s Tomb. Basically, this gameplay session has involved a whole lot of the foreshadowing of the level design paying off in some pretty impresive set-piece puzzles, and slowed down by some other, far less impressive set-piece puzzles. Combat’s constant, of course, but mostly just in terms of clearing away paths and hazards so the player can concentrate on the tasks at hand of collecting skulls and necklaces to be put in their proper places, pushing blocks into perfect Tetris formation and generally using the Ape-brain, rather than the Lizard-brain. Even this playthrough’s sole boss–the Hades Minotaur– is a challenge that’s more about finding the right time to pull a lever than it is about fighting in the traditional sense. Basically, this whole series of temples has been culminating in some nice climaxes, but basically, I’m feeling less like a near-invincible Ancient Greek superwarrior and more like something else, and even more primitive:
A lab-rat.