I am a fan of musicals of every kind. From Hamilton to La La Land to Bob’s Burgers, if the characters in your story burst into music, I am greater than possible on board. For this precise purpose, Stray Gods: The Position-Enjoying Musical caught my eye, thrilling each my interior fan of musicals and my interior fan of video games. Regardless of some complaints about glitches and awkward songwriting in a number of locations, developer Summerfall Studios harmonizes these ideas properly, placing on a present I am unable to assist however applaud.
In Stray Gods, you play as Grace, a lady accused of murdering a Muse, a magical being from historical Greece. On this world, these legendary figures are generally known as Idols, reincarnations of Greek gods which have died and handed their skills to people, granting them immortality and supernatural skills. As a result of Grace was there when the Muse died, she’s been gifted the facility of music and might compel individuals to sing their emotions in massive, interactive musical numbers. I appreciated that there was an in-world purpose for this, and located the worldbuilding as an entire to be easy, however contemporary. Diversifications of Greek fable are extraordinarily widespread in popular culture, however Stray Gods tells an unique sufficient story that the world stays distinctive.
The sport’s title refers to it as a “role-playing” musical, however that time period may be deceptive to some. There isn’t any gear, expertise, or leveling up – simply role-playing within the truest sense of the phrase by making choices as your model of Grace. In the beginning of the sport, you get to decide on one in every of three character traits (Charming, Kickass, or Intelligent) that unlock completely different dialogue choices throughout conversations. A lot of the gameplay consists of speaking with individuals and selecting what to say, both by way of talking, or when Grace decides to activate her powers by way of singing.
The songs are Stray Gods’ most spectacular achievement. As you hear every character sing, you get a listing of choices for the best way to reply in the course of the music. And whereas the sport provides you loads of time to select, this choice course of is timed with the music, so it’s important to resolve rapidly and together with your intestine. At first, this idea pressured me out, however as the sport continued, I grew to adore it. I wasn’t plotting out the precise response I wished to have, I used to be actually role-playing and performing as I assumed Grace would. If that idea stresses you out or you’ve got another purpose to keep away from fast choices, you may disable timed selections within the settings menu, however I like to recommend taking part in with the timer for a greater expertise.
As you choose completely different choices, songs department out and evolve into fully new kinds, and have an effect on the story of the sport accordingly. Relying in your selections, completely different characters seem later within the story, whereas others may stay or die. In my first playthrough, I made a decision to be Charming and tried to empathize with most characters that I met. However on a second playthrough, I made a decision to check out the Kickass trait, because it was hardly ever a alternative I’d have in any other case made. This time, the story was a bit completely different, however primarily altered my relationship with different characters quite than the general plot. I did not thoughts this, because it nonetheless makes repeat playthroughs extra fascinating, however every path nonetheless has to information you to hit the identical songs.
Nevertheless, as soon as I reached these songs, the music was vastly completely different. I anticipated related notes with completely different lyrics and possibly altered accompaniment, however I used to be delighted to see simply how basically songs can change. Some have been utterly unrecognizable; a tragic, hauntingly stunning music I might been trying ahead to after my first playthrough made a whole left flip and have become a rock music once I chosen a unique choice. Experiencing these songs a second time round massively improved my opinion of the sport. The adjustments are thrilling to find, and I preferred some songs far more once I picked completely different lyric choices.
After all, none of those songs or scenes could be gratifying in any respect if the forged performing them wasn’t proficient, so I used to be glad to see they very a lot are. The credit are stuffed with seasoned voice actors, so I went in with excessive expectations, however was nonetheless impressed by how properly it was forged, particularly the aspect roles. Troy Baker does an amazing job as Apollo, however supporting characters like Anjali Bhimani’s Medusa, Erika Ishii’s Hermes, and Rahul Kohli’s Asterion have been highlights each time I encountered them.
The forged is led by Laura Bailey’s Grace, and whereas she by no means drops the ball whereas performing, there have been a number of situations the place I assumed her skillset as a singer did not precisely match the songs she was singing. In some songs, like in an early confrontation with Persephone, sure choices trigger Grace to slide right into a quicker, rap-like cadence. She’s phenomenal at belting and singing extra typical Broadway-style songs, however when issues get too quick she’s undoubtedly out of her ingredient. It is laborious to say if it is the lyricism of the part or Bailey’s discomfort with the model, however these moments fell in need of the usual the remainder of the sport was in a position to obtain. Fortunately, the sport’s design means that you can pivot away from part of a music you do not like – simply choose a unique shade on the subsequent choice path and listen to a brand new model you may desire.
My largest supply of criticism, nonetheless, is plenty of recurring glitches. One is the sport’s occasional tendency to start out a voice line a cut up second into the primary phrase, making a jarring clipping impact. It occurred most frequently with Freddie’s strains, which additionally diverse in quantity to an odd diploma, talking a lot louder or softer than her scene companions. On a number of events, I additionally observed character fashions disappearing for a line or two of dialogue, and at one level throughout my second playthrough, I needed to repeat a whole dialog with Pan in a unique location, instantly after ending the earlier one. Hopefully, these points are fastened sooner or later.
Whereas these glitches did detract from my expertise, they removed from ruined it. General, Stray Gods rocks. Between the forged’s implausible performances, a enjoyable twist on Greek mythology, and a genuinely novel sport mechanic, it is a sport I did not know I wanted, however one I am joyful to provide a standing ovation to.
For extra Stray Gods, take a look at our unique reveal of the opening music, together with our behind-the-scenes take a look at how the music was written.
