If the past few years prove anything, it’s that Sting is quite
comfortable making strategy RPGs. Their best efforts–Yggdra
Union and
Knights
in the Nightmare–were both
interesting, creative tactical
games. But if Gungnir proves anything, it may be that Sting has become
a bit too overconfident.
Being the latest entry in
Sting’s nine-part Dept. Heaven series, Gungnir
is content to rely
on
many of the storytelling tropes established by Yggdra Union and Knights
in the Nightmare. The story features a young fighter named Julio, who
stumbles upon a mysterious young woman in the midst of a war against a
brutal Empire. Soon enough, Julio finds himself heir to the heavenly
spear Gungnir, which he then uses to stab a long succession of enemies
both mortal and divine.
While ostensibly the ninth
episode in a series, Gungnir’s story is only loosely tied to that of
Yggdra Union and Knights in the Nightmare. As such, neither is required
to follow Julio’s story, other than as context for the heavenly
conflict at large. The story itself stands up well enough on its own,
and tends to be melancholy in its depiction of the senseless violence
of war, making it somewhat more mature than the average
Japanese-developed RPG, even if it is a a bit heavy-handed. It slowly
unspools across text heavy sequences between battles, and will likely
prove to be delightful for some, and dreadfully slow for others.
