So, I Played Cold Front (Review)
Nov. 19th, 2024 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedesI knew I would get obsessed with Cold Front, so I put off playing it for ages. I then played it, and became obsessed with it. Who could have foreseen this?
Putting jokes aside: I do have a lot of thoughts about the game, so I wanted to write them all down. This review contains spoilers!
My first criticism is that Augustine is a hockey player who is symbolically represented by a bear, and yet, he is a twig. Excuse me? That is a description of a character that should obviously be a beautiful fat man. Cowards. Pussies. (Although, thinking about the members of STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE's only fat OC and how he's drawn, Augustine probably wouldn't be drawn well if they did. OOPS who said that)
The setup of the game is great! I love that it's framed as a "weird supernatural snowstorm" in order to divert from the idea of them being in a coma. It also has good establishment of mechanics before they are important. Winnie pushing Augustine into the snow is used to establish quicktime events in a low-stakes way, and the hallucination of the plushes establish that the two of them are represented by an elk and bear. I also liked the usage of the marbled look for the hallucinations – it's very cool.
In terms of the story and characters, I really liked the joke of "Augustine 2", and the silly little jingle that played. In general, the dialogue between Augustine and Winnie is great. Their dynamic is super fun! (It's what I'm mentally ill over regarding the game, so obviously, I'm a fan.) In fact, one of my complaints is that I feel like we could've been shown more of their friendship. We see it in flashbacks, and having Augustine offer to carry Winnie was a good start, but I would've liked more subtle details to show that they Know Each Other. Like, I dunno, recalling past events in dialogue (internal or otherwise), or them remembering a detail about the other. Like friends do! (This would also have made the bad ending hurt a lot worse.) (In a good way.)
I would've also liked more expansion on Winnie's implication that he is afraid something bad will happen if he acts as a burden to Augustine. The implication is obviously that this is an insecurity of his. But that said, there are so many other things about the game which are nailed into you a comical amount (more on that as a problem later), so why is this the thing that is made a throwaway one-liner? Especially since Winnie feels significantly less emotionally developed than Augustine, it feels like this could've been explored more.
Getting into the plot specifics: I really liked the reveal of themselves as kids, dead in the snow, right before the monster shows up. Especially the detail about them holding hands – very painful, very cool. Speaking of, the monster design is really good! In comparison, the 'Augustine-skin' reveal in the fake version of Winnie's house was very creepy in concept, however, the drawing looked a little too goofy for it to really live up to its potential. Other than that, though, the buildup to the "reveal" that Winnie stole Augustine's life was fantastic.
Which brings us to the endings! The bad ending, in my opinion, was excellent. I get the feeling that they established the 'blue text representing Winnie, orange text representing Augustine' mechanic just for that one gutpunch of an ending line. Which isn't a disparagement! If they did, it was totally worth it. It was extremely effective, and said a lot with very little.
The good ending, though, I have some issues with. I do like their discussion they have, where they are open and honest about their feelings, but I feel like it was oddly high-energy. I understand that it is like this because it's the climax of the story, but climaxes can be low-energy. The climax of the movie Whisper of the Heart was an old man reading a manuscript, and it was intense as hell! I feel like the conversation might have been more effective if they weren't yelling, and were instead speaking softly, or struggling with how to say what they wanted to say. The intensity could have been drawn from not wanting to mess up and say the wrong thing.
(Also, not really a complaint, but every time I advanced during this conversation, and after they defeated the monster, I 100% unironically expected for the next CG to show them kissing.)
Also, not just in the discussion, but in this ending in general, this ending struggles with the characters being far too self-aware. In the words of a wise tumblr post, "They would NOT fucking have communication skills that good."
In the same vein, this ending has a very bad problem with spelling everything out to the player, and more or less shoving everything down your throat. It genuinely made me think that INVESTIGRAVE might well think their audience is stupid. Okay – the fact that they're in a coma would probably need explaining (though Winnie should be way less certain in the theory while explaining it). But the thing about what the monster represents? C'mon, man. I could've figured that out on my own. Augustine and Winnie also have extensive on-screen dialogue about what their plan is to defeat the monster, before then carrying that plan out on-screen, which kills all surprise that the fight scene could've had. I feel like it could have faded to black with the reveal that Winnie had fuel, then faded into just before the fight scene, and been a lot more effective. We could've assumed that the two of them discussed the plan in the time between. This ties into a general issue I have with STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE, with regards to refusing to let fans have their own interpretations of their games, but that's for another day.
Also, maybe I'm alone in this thought, but... why does Augustine not get on antipsychotics in this ending? Like, yes, okay, he's repaired his friendship with Winnie, which helps with the source of his psychosis. But the next time he experiences a challenge like that, he's just going to experience psychosis again. I would've even accepted Augustine's hallucinations and persecutory delusions even just being called What They Were, and addressed as such, at any point. It never fails to boggle my mind when fictional stories literally have a character experiencing psychosis, and then not at all acknowledge it or address it as such. As if the psychosis is something they just put in for the Horror Factor, so, now that it's the happy ending, well, that doesn't exist anymore! Nevermind that Augustine still experienced them in the main game, regardless of endings. I came into this game knowing that Augustine experienced hallucinations, so I was hyped to have a main character like that. But the ball was seriously dropped in this regard.
So, in conclusion: like most STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE games, I find that Cold Front is a (poorly-optimized) game I like mostly because it is hard-carried by the characters and their dynamics. In terms of what games of theirs I may play next – I've heard that the main character is seriously lacking in, well, character, in Eloquent Countenance, so I'm opting to skip out on that one. I am planning to play Rot in Paradise, Elevator Hitch and Married in Red (probably the one I look forward to the most).
Putting jokes aside: I do have a lot of thoughts about the game, so I wanted to write them all down. This review contains spoilers!
My first criticism is that Augustine is a hockey player who is symbolically represented by a bear, and yet, he is a twig. Excuse me? That is a description of a character that should obviously be a beautiful fat man. Cowards. Pussies. (Although, thinking about the members of STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE's only fat OC and how he's drawn, Augustine probably wouldn't be drawn well if they did. OOPS who said that)
The setup of the game is great! I love that it's framed as a "weird supernatural snowstorm" in order to divert from the idea of them being in a coma. It also has good establishment of mechanics before they are important. Winnie pushing Augustine into the snow is used to establish quicktime events in a low-stakes way, and the hallucination of the plushes establish that the two of them are represented by an elk and bear. I also liked the usage of the marbled look for the hallucinations – it's very cool.
In terms of the story and characters, I really liked the joke of "Augustine 2", and the silly little jingle that played. In general, the dialogue between Augustine and Winnie is great. Their dynamic is super fun! (It's what I'm mentally ill over regarding the game, so obviously, I'm a fan.) In fact, one of my complaints is that I feel like we could've been shown more of their friendship. We see it in flashbacks, and having Augustine offer to carry Winnie was a good start, but I would've liked more subtle details to show that they Know Each Other. Like, I dunno, recalling past events in dialogue (internal or otherwise), or them remembering a detail about the other. Like friends do! (This would also have made the bad ending hurt a lot worse.) (In a good way.)
I would've also liked more expansion on Winnie's implication that he is afraid something bad will happen if he acts as a burden to Augustine. The implication is obviously that this is an insecurity of his. But that said, there are so many other things about the game which are nailed into you a comical amount (more on that as a problem later), so why is this the thing that is made a throwaway one-liner? Especially since Winnie feels significantly less emotionally developed than Augustine, it feels like this could've been explored more.
Getting into the plot specifics: I really liked the reveal of themselves as kids, dead in the snow, right before the monster shows up. Especially the detail about them holding hands – very painful, very cool. Speaking of, the monster design is really good! In comparison, the 'Augustine-skin' reveal in the fake version of Winnie's house was very creepy in concept, however, the drawing looked a little too goofy for it to really live up to its potential. Other than that, though, the buildup to the "reveal" that Winnie stole Augustine's life was fantastic.
Which brings us to the endings! The bad ending, in my opinion, was excellent. I get the feeling that they established the 'blue text representing Winnie, orange text representing Augustine' mechanic just for that one gutpunch of an ending line. Which isn't a disparagement! If they did, it was totally worth it. It was extremely effective, and said a lot with very little.
The good ending, though, I have some issues with. I do like their discussion they have, where they are open and honest about their feelings, but I feel like it was oddly high-energy. I understand that it is like this because it's the climax of the story, but climaxes can be low-energy. The climax of the movie Whisper of the Heart was an old man reading a manuscript, and it was intense as hell! I feel like the conversation might have been more effective if they weren't yelling, and were instead speaking softly, or struggling with how to say what they wanted to say. The intensity could have been drawn from not wanting to mess up and say the wrong thing.
(Also, not really a complaint, but every time I advanced during this conversation, and after they defeated the monster, I 100% unironically expected for the next CG to show them kissing.)
Also, not just in the discussion, but in this ending in general, this ending struggles with the characters being far too self-aware. In the words of a wise tumblr post, "They would NOT fucking have communication skills that good."
In the same vein, this ending has a very bad problem with spelling everything out to the player, and more or less shoving everything down your throat. It genuinely made me think that INVESTIGRAVE might well think their audience is stupid. Okay – the fact that they're in a coma would probably need explaining (though Winnie should be way less certain in the theory while explaining it). But the thing about what the monster represents? C'mon, man. I could've figured that out on my own. Augustine and Winnie also have extensive on-screen dialogue about what their plan is to defeat the monster, before then carrying that plan out on-screen, which kills all surprise that the fight scene could've had. I feel like it could have faded to black with the reveal that Winnie had fuel, then faded into just before the fight scene, and been a lot more effective. We could've assumed that the two of them discussed the plan in the time between. This ties into a general issue I have with STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE, with regards to refusing to let fans have their own interpretations of their games, but that's for another day.
Also, maybe I'm alone in this thought, but... why does Augustine not get on antipsychotics in this ending? Like, yes, okay, he's repaired his friendship with Winnie, which helps with the source of his psychosis. But the next time he experiences a challenge like that, he's just going to experience psychosis again. I would've even accepted Augustine's hallucinations and persecutory delusions even just being called What They Were, and addressed as such, at any point. It never fails to boggle my mind when fictional stories literally have a character experiencing psychosis, and then not at all acknowledge it or address it as such. As if the psychosis is something they just put in for the Horror Factor, so, now that it's the happy ending, well, that doesn't exist anymore! Nevermind that Augustine still experienced them in the main game, regardless of endings. I came into this game knowing that Augustine experienced hallucinations, so I was hyped to have a main character like that. But the ball was seriously dropped in this regard.
So, in conclusion: like most STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE games, I find that Cold Front is a (poorly-optimized) game I like mostly because it is hard-carried by the characters and their dynamics. In terms of what games of theirs I may play next – I've heard that the main character is seriously lacking in, well, character, in Eloquent Countenance, so I'm opting to skip out on that one. I am planning to play Rot in Paradise, Elevator Hitch and Married in Red (probably the one I look forward to the most).
