Phenomenal work as usual Suzy.
The 'bursting free' sequence is the best we've seen in Quake. The gradual reveal of the castle in its wider context is utterly sublime: there's a marriage of Honey & Rubicon that echoes (haha) and extends the repertoire in one of the finest works of the impossiblist castle+tech tradition. That particular quality of vastness — which also immediately evoked HL2 + Portal — is truly brilliant, and difficult to put into words in its vertiginous wonder. That breathless opening sequence, with its immaculate scale and atmospherics (lighting & fog use so consummate I think unrivalled in its realism for Quake) sets an immersive tone which grounds the further adventure. Even if one might have wanted a touch more of it — perhaps in later further cracks into the abyss, or more pointed and expansive vistas back onto the initial scene.
The series of encounters that follow are all brilliantly done, connecting seamlessly and judicious in scale & detail. There's a great balance to the maddening machinery environment: it is not at all so arbitrarily architecturally sprawling as to test that suspension of disbelief which asks of so many banal tech base levels "wtf is this all _for_" — neither is it too dense in its mechanistic interactive detail, which was a feature in HRT.
I was particularly delighted by the first base arena: echoes of Doom 1 2 & 3 in the claustrophobic corridor panic, and surprisingly effective and fresh firefight architecture with Grunts & Shambles. Special mention also needs be made to the crawlspace sequence, with its pitch-perfect atmosphere; and the Fiend encounters were absolutely bang-on: neither mundanely claustrophobic nor so spacious as to be banal. All combat encounters were expertly designed but that aspect was singularly well-judged.
The dramatic return to origin was joyous, really brilliant ludonarrative of a rare quality. It's so tough to get across just how neat and well-judged this all is: nothing too long or big or obnoxious, everything distracting and immersive enough to carry the mind on without ever being confusing or onerous. Expert craftwork in every respect.
The atmospherics are exquisite: usually when these things strike me, my mind quickly goes to comparisons or technical appreciation for use of tools — this isn't like that, it's sustainably immersive and holistically beautiful throughout.
Like Allison I couldn't help be dismayed by the impertinent Pentagram: the pistons section is one of the few places it feels like something's missing and suffers a mild dip in enchantment for its ludic functionalism. There's also a couple of places that feel mildly artistically underdeveloped: the wind tunnel & the gate itself, though conceptually enchanting, don't feel quite up to the general level of innovation and detail work; or perhaps don't have differentiating enough a level of set piece contrast — a bit more localised greebles or lighting effects might have given them more oomph.
Overall: superlative; a singular chapter in the Honey vernacular, and an articulation of techbase soul that equals Rubicon & SMEJ. It's so delightful seeing a development & synthesis of your prior work: the claustrophobic stony traps of Stars We Lost To Grief; the abyssal depths of Warmest Body In The Room; the consummate othering machinery of HRT.
Thanks so much!
