Happy 2021! School has already started for me, but I'm not really okay with that so instead of writing my paper I'm playing video games. And boy does it feel good! (Don't follow my poor example...)
Currently I'm playing another RPGMaker game called Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass. I found this in the roughly 1700-game-strong itch.io bundle for Racial Justice and Equality last June, but had not touched the bundle (apart from playing around with Hidden Folks) until the New Year. It's nothing as strong as a New Year's resolution, but I really want to start devouring some of the great games in that bundle, starting with this one. Mostly because I heard it's similar to OFF, MOTHER 2 (Earthbound), and LISA -- one of my favourite RPGMaker games in existence. So far, I haven't finished the game but am approaching what appears to be the home stretch (almost 40 hours in), and because someone keeps cutting onions and blurring my vision, I figured I'd take a break to write a little progress post before my eyes drown.
Please note | this post contains references to a game that deals with "unspeakable horrors" including violence and gore (taken from its description) and handles serious topics seriously. Emotionally unhealthy individuals may suffer a strong shock. Also, mild spoilers ahead!
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is an exploration-heavy adventure (?) game created in RPGMaker VX Ace (as of the time of this writing, the third-newest RPGMaker software). The developer, Kasey Ozymy, began development in 2014 and released the game on Steam and itch.io on August 7th, 2018.
Here is an excerpt from the store page, where it is 15 USD:
The game takes place in the dream of an eight-year-old boy. When an alien entity appears and threatens his family and the stability of the dream world itself, Jimmy sets out on an adventure to save his family and eradicate the threat of the Pulsating Mass. Along the way, Jimmy will have to work with his family, confront his own shortcomings, and brave the creeping nightmares of his subconscious.
I will not be talking too much about the content of the game because I believe it is best experienced firsthand for the player. (There's also a demo to test out on RPGMaker.net!) However, everyone who likes the MOTHER series will absolutely enjoy its tongue-in-cheek humour and surprising maturity that hits home. The story takes place within the dream-world of a boy named Jimmy, who, as an empathetic character, has the dream ability to "empathize" and "turn into" some enemies that he defeats. Using this unique ability, he teams up with his strange but wonderful family and meets many colourful characters on his way through this strange and at times, unsettling world...
Gameplay-wise, as an RPGMaker game it is lovingly crafted with an absolutely unbelievable amount of content, including tons of areas to visit, hundreds of unique monster (?) encounters, rich dialogue, and rewards for creativity and exploration (which is why I still haven't finished all the sidequests even 40 hours in).
Edit | After completing the game (and grinding a lot for the final boss) my playtime is over 53...58 hours. For fifteen dollars, the amount of content in this game is enormous, and I could spend even more time playing if I wanted to revisit areas.
The game is balanced surprisingly well for difficulty, although in my eager exploration I overlevelled a bit. However, bosses can be truly difficult if one isn't careful about levelling conscientiously and it's possible to stumble into some killer areas early on. The game also has an "easy" difficulty for those having trouble, and there is not shame in using it if you aren't at an adequate level because each boss has their own creatively made "tricks" or gimmicks that make them formidable foes. Boss fights can get really difficult if the player isn't careful. Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is excellent at inspiring the satisfying feeling of truly overcoming a difficult fight once you manage to finally win over a strange and terrifying enemy! Apart from bosses, the unique creatures that the player gets to fight all have their own balances, mechanics, and carefully made movesets.
The music of this game is absolutely phenomenal and created entirely by the developer and artist. Kasey has mentioned having both a Master's in English Creative Writing and a minor in Music History, and both show up clearly in his excellent writing throughout the story as well as the banging soundtrack, which I could continue listening to forever. There are a lot of nods to classical music techniques I found. Give it a listen!
Note | I am probably going to update this post once I'm finished with the game, but I just had to get some of it off my chest because of how much it was affecting my mental state currently. A truly excellent game had been sitting around downloaded on my PC for six months, and now it's sitting on my heart.
Addendum | So I pulled an all-nighter to complete the game, finishing the morning of January 6th. Non-specific spoilers follow, so please do not read past the divider in the case you don't want to be spoiled even a little bit.
Post-completion |
All I can say is that the game's ending put my emotions through the wringer. I can't stop thinking about it and struggling not to cry (boy did I sob a lot during some parts of this game). This game is truly a note to how important family is in times of crisis, and painfully illustrates how caring can lead to pain all around. The game touched on some really important and personal parts of me, and I thought it gave the absolute best (worst) way to end Jimmy's story that could have been created. Some people seem to think it wasn't a good ending online, but in my opinion they miss the point -- it's the suddenness, the slight false sense of hope, and the faint horror that truly encapsulates what the Pulsating Mass really is (having had a family member who has battled it themselves).
I had to put it down for a few hours for a slight emotional breather before going back to complete any side-quests I had missed. Even the post-game is well-done with a good amount of content to go through (that 100-floor board game dungeon ate ten hours of my time). This is the kind of game that will stick with the player for a very, very long time. I will certainly never forget it. There is so much I want to write about this game, so much about the battle system and puzzle creativity and excellent soundtrack and the way it messes with the mind and the hope and courage and despair within it. Instead, though, I implore anyone potentially reading this to go purchase it yourself or play the demo on RPGMaker.net. I promise you won't regret it.
You can find Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass here:
You can follow Kasey Ozymy here as he works on his next feature-length game (which is not in RPGMaker):
Thank you for reading this far!
Storm
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