The Lion's Song: Episode 2 - Anthology DLC

As much as I enjoyed the first episode, I think that this second part is simply sublime. The story unfolds in a way wonderfully shown, with the music playing a very important part in the telling. Emotions popping out of every character in the shape of a shadow that the artist tries to etch in the canvas of his attelier, places and people in Vienna to go and visit, family reunions with stories from the past... Amazing game. Truly.

I loved this episode. This one really pulled at my heart strings and the personal struggle Franz goes through hit a little close to home. Highly recommend playing through with a cozy blanket and some warm tea.

You can feel it's a lovechild of the artists who created this game. As with the first episode, it's introspectively philosophical. The way the game presents itself feels like an old school romantic sleeper movie you'd watch late at night; sublime, and aimed toward a more intellectual audience who don't mind dissecting the storyline in a slower pace. The pixelated graphics using limited color palette also works very well reinforcing the nostalgic feeling of the story's setting. Music is of course again, the centerpiece of the game and carried through the slow-paced game which is very rewarding to finish.

Wow. This game reignited my faith in games, this special art form that should be dedicated also to sensitive poets and gentle truth seekers. And this one does it, as only few do. I am in love with Episode 2, which stroke a chord deep inside my artist soul. It's wise, original and unexpected - clearly bringing the makers' experience as artists to the screen: the way they think, what triggers them, their philosophical complex nature, their loving hearts, their self doubts and above all, their endless striving for deeper and higher understanding. I'd spend a whole season with Franz if I could. Thank you so much for this -- I'm sure I'll replay it sometime soon, and naturally - I can't wait for the rest to come (though I will wait as long as it takes to make the next episodes as uncompromising as the previous two :))

Once again I am shocked by this disturbingly underrated game. The Lion's Song takes what was great about episode one and expands upon it in every imaginable way. This time we step into the shoes of Franz, an up and coming painter with the ability to look into people’s souls. I’ll admit I was at first turned off by the inclusion of this mechanic as so many indie games has tried and failed to cram a supernatural angle into their stories. I was pleased to see that not only did Franz’s gift fit within the previously established world, but enriched it. The souls of key characters and extras alike, adding another layer to already exquisite environmental design. every character’s true nature is painted upon the background for the player to see causing them to second guess previous impressions and displaying a vast world beyond the game itself. Franz’s gift is a superb narrative tool that speaks volumes about who Franz meets and eventually Franz himself in ways that only strengthen the core story’s themes. In ep. 1 we were introduced to the idea of art being an extension of the artist themselves and what it means to create. Ep. 2 not only adds to this, but begins to blur the line between the soul of an artist and the soul of the common man. Too often art idolizes artistic pro suits to the exclusion of all else, often coming across as snobbish or fake. Ep. 2 turns this on it’s head, surrounding the player with the snobbish social elites of Vienna and asking whether what draws a baker to be a baker, whether it can be compared to the drive of an artist and what it means to be human. Is there a song in all of us? "The Lion’s Song: Anthology" delights with it’s complex questions, precise artistic flourishes, and engrossing world. I am thoroughly excited about where this game will take me next. 5/5 Seriously, why aren’t more people talking about this?

The main theme of the second episode in the series follows self reflection and identity, peeling away the different layers or masks we put on to the world and seeing deeply and bare who we are inside. The narration like the first is tied to a single protagonists, Franz Market, an aspiring and up and coming artist in Vienna who also has demons haunting himself that he needs to come to terms with. It's a good insight not to judge a book by its cover. My comments are similar to the first episode which this one also has links with, i love the art style, the game play, the writing and character portrayal. I feel this episode has more depth and darker than the first, yet follow the same theme of doubt, confronting oneself and finally being at peace with yourself and moving on to better things.

[b] Paint me like one of your onions [/b] First we visited Wilma, a talented young violinist who struggled with her writer’s block, in Silence. Struggling with having to make perhaps the most important piece of her musical career in a solitary cabin that Arthur Caban (a professor who convinced her to perform this new piece) provided. Even though it’s been around 2 years since, I still remember how much it impacted me and it’s even more relatable now more than ever (even though I’m wanting to make violin covers than write my own pieces). In Anthology, we get to met Franz Markert, an up-and-coming painter with a dream of immortalizing his name within Vienna. Franz isn’t just any painter that you’ll come across, he has an unique ability that sets his portraits from the others. He can see the many layers people have, whether they try to hide it or not, and puts what he sees on the canvas. Bringing their personality, flaws, and emotions to the forefront. However, for someone that can see other’s layers, he can’t see his own. So while you talk with others, pick your next model, and try to impress Grete (a harsh critic), Franz will get closer to figuring out his own layers. To finally get to know himself after getting to know countless others. The best part of Anthology has to be how they showed Franz’s ability. I remember back when I first played Silence that I was wondering how they would tackle this aspect. Now that I finally played this episode, I’m not disappointed. The layers that he can see fades in and is an extension of whoever has it. We first see that it’s sometimes based on first impressions as these layers will often show up beside people that he passes. Fading in and out as he passes them. Then we see what they’re mostly based on, conversation. Franz focuses on how others hold themselves and how they choose their words. If Franz chose them as a model, he also asks personal questions and makes sure they are as comfortable as possible. Depending on your dialogue choices here, Franz will see a different layer and his painting will change accordingly. Lastly, we see that some layers can even linger past a quick hello. Leaving just an outline till these layers leaves Franz’s mind. Since everyone featured in The Lion’s Song is connected and happening around the same time, there are references to the previous episode, Silence, and the next one, Derivation. Wilma is shown to be one of the many models Franz had and Emil makes an appearance with the possibility of being a model. Much like Silence, there is a perfect run so make sure you use a guide if you want to get all the achievements. Just don’t try to get them all in one day The Lion’s Song: Episode 2 Anthology continues to be as impactful and beautiful as Episode 1 was. Managing to quickly get the player to be familiar with Franz and connect with his struggles even if you’re not an artist. While I recommend Episode 2, I suggest picking up the Season Pass. Since the first episodes were handled with care and wonderful experiences, I doubt the next two are anything less. [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/RipWitch/recommended/437160] Episode 1: Silence review [/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/RipWitch/recommended/477020] Episode 3: Derivation review [/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/RipWitch/recommended/477030] Episode 4: Closure review [/url]

The built-in pauses make this game unbearable. I do plan to force myself to finish it at some point, but I dread the pacing every time I turn it on. See: you can go down different paths, but not on the same play-through and there is too much sitting around and waiting to get from one point to another. That said, once you complete a chapter, you can go back and change some of the choices, but it is still a slow and laborious process.

[h1]Short version: 72%[/h1] Readers who enjoy deep emotional tales should love 'Anthology', as it explores the ideas of searching for true inspiration, but without letting this chase consume oneself. [h1]Long version:[/h1] If 'Silence' was an appetiser, then 'Anthology' is the delicious first course in this episodic visual novel: there is giant leap in the amount of characters and places we can interact with, and the writing style really ramps up the quality, especially in terms of atmosphere and characterisation. By the end of this episode, we will feel like knowing the protagonist, Franz Markert better than a best friend. Probably it is for the better, since actually playing through his journey is an arduous task. Franz is a talented painter, gifted with a sight that unravels the real nature of his subjects (akin to aura reading). However, he seems to be unable to reflect upon his own layers, which, combined with the peer pressure and anticipation brought by his fame, is slowly eating him away. Therefore, it is up to the player to help him finding a new subject each day, then go through a long and branching dialogue tree to explore their inner self. There is one caveat though; to reach the one good ending, we must make the right choice at every single dialogue, turning the entire episode into a gigantic guessing game. Admittedly, the writing style makes all of that worth it, but the sheer amount of combinations truly warrants the use of a guide to expedite the process.

Similarly to the first episode, Silence, Anthology follows an artist struggling with their art and with who they are. In Anthology, we follow Franz Markert, a young painter who recently arrived in Vienna, who is looking for a new subject while dealing with, as we found out later, some dark and troubling issues of his own. I will be honest, I struggled with Anthology. The game itself is just as beautiful and creative as Silence was, even more so. The Lion’s Song is expended, had grown since Silence. In episode 2, you are offered a map of Vienna and a few locations to visit pretty much whenever you like, which was very nice. The game presents the concept of seeing people’s “souls” or their “layers” whichever term you prefer or think fits best, but Anthology struggle with how it presents or sees the women of that episode. There are many women physically noticeable/present in the game, but nearly all of them are either entirely in the background, not offered as an option of characters to interact with, almost as if to say that women are not interesting, do not have souls, or no layers. Those that Franz Markert does notice have layers I found to be profoundly shallow. They are shown to us as being either envious of other women, being in love or lustful of men (or simply lustful in general), lonely or distressed, gluttonous or old. Although it is good that women are not portrayed solely as innocent creatures unable of sin, these things are generally attributed to women, and considering that there are only 2 women in the entire game that you can actually interact with, one of which you treat in a very questionable, I found the decision and the treatment of women in this episode particularly disappointing. By the second half of the episode, the story of Franz seems to figure out where it truly wants to go, and what the character itself also wants to go. Although at the expense of others, Franz struggles with very real and human things, beyond simply who he is as an artist or who he is as a person, but how his art and his decisions define him, and what it is doing to his wellbeing. Franz’s journey is a rough, complex and ugly journey. As his journey went on, a dislike of him grew within him. I realized that what I saw him seeing was not who people were, but rather, what he saw, with all of his ignorant, judgemental and inexperienced self. By the end of this episode much of how I felt turned into something else, I saw what the episode was presenting me as a complex character, as thoughts I did not like, but also wasn’t necessarily supposed to like. Just as Franz’s realises, people and the world that we live in has layers, layers we may find simple as first glance, but never truly are. I appreciated that Anthology game me a character that I did not hold simple feelings for due to the fact that characters should not be simple, they should have layers, and this story does.