Author: Nathan Doverspike
As someone who loves shows where people battle giant monsters, really gory action scenes, and has a deep appreciation for a good apocalypse story, Attack on Titan show delivers to the fullest extent on all those fronts. The video game, surprisingly, does the show and manga justice, providing players with the same visceral combat illustrated in the show with fantastic controls and really gory combat. After playing it for countless more hours this week, finishing up getting an S rank on all the available missions, I can’t recommend this game enough. Here are just a few reasons why it’s worth revisiting since its release in 2016.
The Combat
Besides the giant naked humanoid creatures eating people, the other initial observation when I saw the show is how awesome the gear they use is. Two gas powered grapple hooks, one on each side, and blades that can break away at certain intervals along the blade and also replaced by ejecting it and attaching a new one to take its place. These seemingly ancient weapons and gear are all that stand between humanity and extinction.
Speaking of awesome, using the gear to grapple your way through the different environments is just as cool as it is in the show. You can catapult yourself across most maps (the outdoors maps switch it up with few areas to swing but give you a horse to ride), sometimes without ever touching the ground, and take out the limbs of the terrifying titans along the way in mid-air style. You’ll need to be cautious when surrounded though, since they are relentless in their quest to snack on humans. Plan your attacks with precision, and revel on the brutal combat that feels oh so good. In this game, it’s a titan eat human world!
The Art Style
What appears to be a mix between cel shaded and hand drawn graphics, this game just oozes style with its substance. The environments are beautifully detailed; the enemies are horrifyingly gorgeous with their big dumb smiles and giant rear ends. Each piece of gear and weapon has a very distinct look to go along with individual stats and eventually branching upgrade paths for many of them. Everything in this game shares these beautiful design choices, and makes it one of a kind for a fan of the series and action games in general.
Each Character Is A Unique Experience
I always appreciate a game that allows you to play as each of your favorite characters, and AoT is no exception. Unlike other games though, each character has different stats and abilities based on their characters from the show. For example, Mikasa is probably the best at combat (Levi is a close second), while Armen focuses on more strategic abilities and doesn’t have as much health or attack power. Use them enough, and they’ll earn enough experience to level up and unlock a new skill that usually ends up being a big boon to combat. Thankfully, the balance between characters is fair and playing as each is a blast.
Nothing Quite Like It
With all those features mentioned above, in addition to a full length campaign (12-14 hours) and an additional mode after you beat that, this is one heck of a game that I wish more people recognized as being a great action game on current gen platforms. It’s combat is unlike any other game I’ve played, and the art style is equally fitting. It’s a great game, with a good story, one-of-a-kind combat, and is absolutely worth revisiting. So what are you waiting for?
Golden Age Gamers 