The magic of video games is how many directions they can be taken. You can fight off zombies in a horror game, have a cozy time making your community, and so much more. Yet, the one thing I always wanted to see was a musical video game. Yes, we have had musical numbers, but the idea of a full-fledged musical seems like a dream. Imagine the possibilities that could come from combining gameplay with characters expressing their feelings in song. We don’t have to fantasize about it anymore with the release of Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. After years of crowd-funding and production, it’s finally here for your eyes to enjoy.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is available on August 10th for $29.99 on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
Story: Once More With Feeling
The game follows Grace, a college dropout that’s insured what she wants out of life. After encountering a mysterious woman at band practice, Grace finds that same person dead at her apartment. It turns out she’s Calliope, and Grace inherited her powers of music. Now she must figure out who killed Calliope before the other Gods kill her.
What I love about using Grace’s new powers is the direct inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s classic episode, “Once More With Feeling.” In that episode, a demon can make people break into songs revealing hidden truths. With this game, we not only know what everyone is feeling, but each piece tells a little about the mystery. It is a good murder story with some fun twists along the way. Also, like Buffy, there’s a great mix of comedy and drama. Fitting about a game with Greek gods, it becomes a bit of a Greek tragedy.
A-List Casting
The amount of talent still floors me in this game. To have Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, Janina Gavankar, Khary Payton, Felicia Day, and Ashley Johnson is mind-blowing. And there are so many more talented actors featured throughout. Laura Bailey leads as Grace, the perfect character to navigate this crazy world. She’s a little snarky but has compassion and wit as well.
Probably my favorites out of the supporting cast are Freddie and Pan. Janina Gavankar voices her, and she’s fantastic as the best friend of Grace. It’s the unconditional support for her Grace that’s charming. Khary Payton as Pan is one of my favorite performances from the actor. You can tell he’s having fun with this role as he’s deliciously stretching out each line. It’s equal parts sinister and hammy that makes each Pan scene exciting.
Laura Bailey is simply a delight.
Gameplay: Make Your Choice
There isn’t much to the gameplay, as the primary function is dialogue choices. You can decide how Grace should perceive the events around her. Then there are optional choices if you want to delve deep into the world’s lore with follow-up questions. What’s interesting is the avenue of Grace’s personality.
There are three options of who Grace is, and that unlocks unique dialogue choices. But it’s puzzling that the other two aspects you don’t pick are locked away. There are two sides to this, as it might have lost some gameplay diversity, but having a more multifaceted character would have been better for the overall experience. Yet, having to choose what you think Grace should be in your eyes will add more to multiple replays.
How will Grace respond?
Sound: A Whole Game of Earworms
If you’re a fan of musicals, I have some excellent news for you. This is a fantastic musical with a lot of great songs featured throughout. A massive amount of credit has to go to the composer, Austin Wintory. He’s already known for his striking compositions from Journey and Flow, but now he can flex his musical talents. Each song will leave an impression on you, whether from an emotional one or how it’ll be stuck in your head for a while. Even the simple instrumental of the first song, “Adrift,” that plays on the menu screen is hauntingly beautiful.
What makes it even more engaging is the variation of each song. I don’t mean just the songs, but the direction it can take. All three options of Grace’s personality open up and can change the song’s course. Take the piece at the beginning of Act 1 with Freddie, Pan, and Grace. You could have her side with either character or take it alone. And it isn’t just one moment in the number, but multiple times. It adds so much replayability because I want to hear any variation of these great songs throughout.
But Wait, There’s More
What’s incredible is that the team behind this is releasing four albums with all the songs and different choices. Three albums strictly have one aspect of personality, so the red album, for example, will feature every song if the gamer decides to pick the red lyric option. The fourth album is a more diverse experience that zig zags through all the lyric options. Now just because the songs will be available to stream, it doesn’t mean you should skip straight to the music. This is more of a great bonus gift than the actual experience itself.
Graphics: A Semi Motion Graphic Novel
Stray Gods uses a graphic novel art style to help illustrate its world. The whole game has limited motion but makes up for it with the amazing detailed expressions of the characters. Every character looks distinct and identifiable. On top of that, the sunset color palette that they used to significant effect is stunning.
However, some of the frames looked a little awkward a few times. Some images they hold on to don’t work when another character is talking or becomes distracting. It’s kind of like when you pause during the early episodes of The Simpsons, and there are some unfortunate moments where the characters don’t look right.
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- Do you bring that door to my living room?
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- The Chorus would like to see you now.
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- No mortal shalll enter.
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- Apollo: The god of not buttoning up his shirt.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Gods was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Summerfall Studios.
