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huh's Four Last Things (PC)
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| [November 9, 2018 12:28:18 AM]
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Since finishing the game, I went back and made sure to complete all the extra little achievements. I had to make the protagonist throw up from drinking too much and make sure to inspect each of the paintings in the art gallery. The latter achievement was particularly interesting since that collection of artwork made up every art asset-every character, location, and item-in the game. That one room serves as credits, an in-game location, and a hidden achievement, all in one. In fact, I think that Joe Richardson accomplished a number of impressive achievements with this game.
First of all, the concept of taking Renaissance artwork and rigging it to all the game's assets is incredibly creative and very well executed. The game's writing is amusing and thought-provoking, and it functions well in the point-and-click genre. I thought the ending was excellent. The protagonist ends in hell, chained to a rock and armed with a pickaxe. There are all sorts of crazy characters doing bizarre acts on every side, but when the player tries to interact they are all too far out of reach. The only object within reach is a rock, and the only available action is to swing the pickaxe. And so the player does that, and then again, and then again. After the fourth or fifth swing, the game's title appears. Another swing, and the first of the credits appears. With each swing the next line appears, until it just says, "the end :)", and with each subsequent swing the screen darkens a shade, eventually to black.
And now let's get back to that ethical perspective. "Four Last Things" might be summed up as one extensive and harsh critique of Catholicism, or perhaps of organized religion in general. From the beginning, the protagonist is driven to repentance out of guilt inspired by the Church. He dreams about the creation story, of Adam and Eve and "original sin," and it startles him out of his lifestyle of low-key debauchery. But when he comes to the nearest church, the Bishops handle it bureaucratically. They don't care about his sins, about absolution, or about his intentions at all. All that concerns them is that the protagonist follow protocol, even if that means committing each of the seven deadly sins again. The protagonist remains consistently aware of the absurdity of it all, but follows through by seducing a woman, murdering an innocent man, eating far too many meat pies, and siphoning money out of a dead man's inheritance, among other smaller misdemeanors. Later in the plot, another higher up in the Church acknowledges that all this was done for no reason other than to satisfy a power-hungry organization. Even choosing to give away all your possessions to a beggar within the cathedral does not matter to the Church, and you are sacrificed regardless of how you act. The game even goes so far as to let you scream for forgiveness or salvation at the clouds, but no god ever answers. Regardless, you end up chained in Hell for all eternity.
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| [November 8, 2018 12:19:47 AM]
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So as it happens, I got carried away and ended up finishing "Four Last Things" on my second day. The story is a little shorter than I expected, but I don't really mind since learning that the entire game was developed by a single person. I completed the rest of the sins with only mild difficulty, until only Envy was left. That last sin took me hours. I had collected every item I could find, talked with everyone and anyone I could find, and tried giving everything to everyone. It was painful and draining. In the end, all my problems were solved when I talked with some random dude in the bar with all the children. I hadn't realized that this man was even available for interaction, but with a single line I had completed that last sin. As if to hurt me further, the game followed that up with "Well that was worryingly easy." After that, I confessed my sins and was offered the suicidal "leap of faith" as absolution. Then I was in Hell and the game was over.
I loved the last scenes of dialogue, and I thought the settings were especially amusing and interesting near the end. You enter the church and there's a beggar who provides an opportunity to give away all your possessions. Only it doesn't matter how righteous you are in the game, as a character soon reveals. The game ends with a message that the church (and perhaps all religion) is corrupt and meant only to make a few people powerful over others. In the end, Hell is the inevitable outcome. It was certainly a thought-provoking conclusion, and I loved the final scene where the only action is to hammer a rock for the rest of eternity. However, I think the game could've easily included some branching at the end and experimented more with various conclusions. This ending could be kept, but perhaps there's a way to gain God's attention before that final leap and instead be lifted into Heaven. I imagine the developer could do something clever like trap the character in that heavenly space without anything to do, forcing the player to just quit out of boredom. Anyways, I really enjoyed this game's art and writing.
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| [November 7, 2018 12:51:48 AM]
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This game didn't look like much when I first selected it. The art style is bizarre, the gameplay is standard point n' click puzzle solving, and yet the writing and premise of the game makes it all worth it. You play as some random sinner as you come to the church to confess your sins. However, the church won't allow you to confess unless the sins were committed within their jurisdiction. And so, you must set out and commit each of the seven sins. At this point, I've made it through half: Sloth, Greed, Lust, and Pride. Still to come: Wrath, Envy, and Gluttony. In terms of morality, the game seems to be poking fun at that moral system based fully in religious teachings. In fact, it depicts a system so broken that you're supposed to commit as many immoral acts as possible in order to achieve moral righteousness. All in all, this game is ridiculous, politically incorrect, and wildly entertaining.
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huh's Four Last Things (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 6 November, 2018
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