![]() ![]() If "Love and Shadows" had come along as an optional expansion six months after the game was released, there might have been fewer complaints, but it was released the same day. ![]() Marquis has stated that the Amiria route isn't innately better than the others (aside from automatically unlocking a particular side quest which otherwise carries certain prerequisites), and that it was added somewhat late in the writing process. If you choose to pay an extra dollar for the "Love and Shadows" bonus content, you can unlock a third deity, the goddess Amiria. There's a paywall after Chapter 4 if you're trying the game before you buy, but once you've bought it, you don't have to spend another penny to play or to win.Īt one point in the story, Pon Para will be asked to choose one of two deities as their personal patron. The reviews that claim you have to "spend money to keep going with the story" or pay "1 more dollar for every choice" are full of crap. Fortunately, I'm not at all unhappy with the prospect of discovering Pon Para's fascinating world all over again. My first playthrough ended with my PC dying partway through the final chapter, so I'm going to have to play the whole thing over again and make some different choices in the near future in hopes of getting an ending I can carry over into the next game. (Suffice it to say I'm privately going to think of people who presume to educate me on things I already know perfectly well as "mooncalves in the midden" for a long, long time.) Occasional bursts of wit - usually from my favorite character, Melaxu - made me laugh out loud. Marquis makes it look easy.) The dialogue seldom feels artificial even when it's structured to serve the narrative (usually by highlighting the potential risks and benefits of various approaches to a problem before prompting the reader to make a choice). Fewer could pull it off without compromising either the humor or the horror, or both. (Few writers would dare to juxtapose a tortured corpse with a comedic skirmish. His prose is polished and descriptive but never flowery, and he is a master of tone. Knowing whom to trust is as thorny a problem as fighting strategies or travel arrangements.Īs much as he crafts his story with a sure hand, Marquis undergirds it with a fierce and original intelligence that shines through in everything from technology to linguistics. There's a fascinating cast of characters, few of whom are easy to classify as "good" or "bad" - the PC often finds themself at cross purposes with friends or forming tentative alliances with foes - but nearly all of whom are complex, with secrets and agendas of their own. The story's a good one, and Marquis keeps the adventures coming without ever falling into a rut: there are battles, explorations, intrigues, MacGuffin quests, strategy sessions, and even a chapter-long murder mystery, interspersed with moments of reflection and conversation. It's worth at least skimming, even if you're eager to get on with the story, and it remains a useful reference guide as the plot grows more complex. (Come to think of it, I really wasn't joking - I read most of Thomas More's Utopia in one night - but I digress.) Marquis provides a richly satisfying infodump in the form of a "Codex," available via the stats page, which serves as a guide to the people, places, historical events, and religious practices which shape the world of his creation. I'm a huge worldbuilding nerd - I've joked to my husband that authors who create fictional societies don't even have to construct a plot to make me happy, just an infodump. The worldbuilding is some of the best I've seen in any CS game. Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth is amazing.Įpic adventure isn't remotely one of my favorite genres, but this one had me gripped almost from the beginning. Fortunately, since Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth went on sale to celebrate the release of its sequel, the timing was perfect to add both volumes to my library and decide for myself if this series was really worth the hype.Īnd the answer is: yes. I wasn't able to join in, because I hadn't yet read the first book. When Pon Para and the Unconquerable Scorpion, the second volume in Kyle Marquis's "Pon Para" series, was released last week, the enthusiasm on the CoG forum was palpable. ![]()
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