Is there something wrong with me? People within the game journalism game are game for gushing over this game. Me, not so much. Don't get me wrong, it looks good. The action seems fun, the graphics are incredible, but something about Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is rubbing me the wrong way.
At first I thought it may have been the story's origin that was a turn off. From the very first media leaked, it was apparent that Enslaved was based on Journey to the West, one of the most influential pieces of Asian literature ever penned. If the title, Odyssey to the West, wasn't enough of a giveaway, how about these things: the gold-banded staff, the circlet, and the all so obvious character's name of Monkey. Supporting characters Trip and Pig also reveal the origin of the idea that spawned Enslaved.
Developers Ninja Theory are not trying to hide the fact that they borrowed heavily from Journey to the West. While there are bound to be some extreme differences in the storyline, such as the post-apocalyptic setting and the flood of robots as the antagonists, I can't help but feel bothered knowing that this story isn't truly original. On the other side of the fence though, I can't say I've ever read Journey to the West, nor am I completely familiar with it's transpirings (outside of it's influences on Dragon Ball.) So even though Enslaved is a retelling of an old story, I hope it's safe to say there are enough differences here to make the game feel fresh, even to the wisest Journey to the West historian.
Unable to decide whether I'm pro or anti Enslaved's story, I turn a critical eye to the decidedly western influenced design. As a story from the far east, it's interesting to see it with a feel of a modern tale and a stamp of the good old US of A. In what could be gaming's most beautiful post-apocalyptic landscape to date, the shimmering bodies of water and collapsed bridges remind me of New York a hundred years after world's end. I welcome the modern-to-futuristic touches of broken skyscrapers and airships, as I think updating the old classic does well to endear it to today's gamer. I do, however have a huge beef with the design of the protagonist.
When I first laid eyes upon Monkey, something didn't sit quite right in my gut about his look. When your lead is based on, well, a Monkey, I guess you can't expect much in the looks department. Though when I think of a monkey, I think nimble, quick, solid muscle on a lithe frame. When I look at Enslaved's Monkey, I think of a middle-aged guido. Monkey makes me wonder if Enslaved's character designers were raised in Staten Island, or have a summer home along the Jersey Shore. He's a shirtless, hulking, tattooed mass of a man with a bottle's worth of gel in his perma-spiked, upswept fireball hair, and a low gravelly voice that would make Vin Diesel blush. I guess the old Japanese game market adage rings true, Americans love the over-muscled and manly, why else would they sign Jersey Shore on for a second season? I'm going to disagree with Ninja Theory's character design choice. I realize the end of the world has come and gone in Enslaved's timeline, but are you telling me Monkey can't find anything better than skinny red hipster jeans, and a bucket of hair gel?
Of course, for all of my overly critical keystrokes, as with most gaming experiences, great gameplay cures all, and I can't front, Enslaved looks like it delivers on that tip. Everything I've seen so far has looked excellent; the platforming, fighting, and cinematic sequences played before the stunning visuals of lush post-apocalyptic overgrowth. Journalists who have logged some time with Odyssey to the West are already singing it's praises, so it's hard to dispute the many reputable sources that have come before me. But smooth gameplay be damned, it's going to kill me to have to play an entire game as this guy.