Octavia's Anthem: Looking Back

[Imaru]

So I've had some time to think about the quest since it came out, and I thought that now would be a good time to provide my feedback on it. First, I wanted to say that I loved it, and I think it was one of the better quests so far. I'm going to break down my feedback into different parts, within spoilers bellow so it doesn't take up too much space. 

First: Story

Spoiler

When I'm playing a quest, I think that one of the most important things is the story. Does it advance the plot of the game in a meaningful way? 

If you ask me, yes, Octavia's Anthem does. It furthers Hunhow's plot of destroying all vestiges of the Orokin. It also explains that Cephalons aren't always created by force (in the case of Ordan Karris/Ordis) but are sometimes a descision made by the person becoming one. That actually leads to some of my speculation that I'll put farther down. 

In addition to furthering plot (Hunhow as a villain), it expands characters. Ordis continued to sympathize with the Cephalon in distress (Suda this time, Jordas last time), but Simiaris is also a significant player this time around (last time he showed up in a quest was The New Strange, trying to get Ordis to join him). This time, he was coldly logical (as usual) but intervened at the last moment (deus ex machina anyone?) to help us, Ordis, and Suda combat Hunhow in her datascape. Then he got flustered when she thanked him...

Being a Syndicate quest, you'd expect Suda to get a whole lot more character development (like Amaryn in The Silver Grove) but I didn't feel she did. She didn't recover any information that was lost (during her webcomic), and other than her confusion I didn't notice anything different about her. I'll need to replay the quest, but it didn't seem to me that there was very much development.

Last thing on story, and then we'll move on: Ordis's note after going to help Suda. That made me almost tear up because of how heartfelt it was. Very well written.

Second: Mechanics and Warframe

Spoiler

I like the Mandachord. I haven't spent much time messing with it (my access to Warframe died over the weekend and I've been busy most other days) but it seems very interesting. Going along with that, I enjoy Octavia (but she doesn't seem to be able to take much of a hit), though I haven't really figured her out yet. She seems like she could be very powerful. 

When recovering the Mandachord parts, I liked the floaty dot that lead us to the parts. I liked the change from the standard waypoint system, though it did get stuck for me at one point.

Last, but definitely not least, the boss fight. I loved it. It was a bit long, but I feel that it had to be, given the way that the set it up. If they were to do it again, I would suggest do the Drum and first section of Bass at once, then the second half of Bass and Melody together. I feel like that would have made it go fast enough to be less tedious, but take long enough to still enjoy it. Definitely would be interested to see more unique mechanics like that. 

My one problem was that Sentients came out of nowhere. I think it would have worked better if Suda started glitching and being possessed by Hunhow at the end of a mission, and then the next mission has Sentients. This would allow the player to prepare for it better, rather than just getting blindsided by Sentients.

Third: Fallout, Implications, and Speculation

Spoiler

Not to be confused with the popular game series, I mean the ramifications of what happened. Suda seems to be fully intact now, so the integral plot of the quest is solved. 

But what happened to Hunhow? There's no way that Hunhow, Sentient Destroyer of Worlds, was taken down by music in a Cephalon's datascape. I think that would be a waste of a fantastic villain. I doubt that he's gone forever, more likely scheming some more for an upcoming cinematic quest. 

To me, the more interesting thing is what the implications of the quest are. From the webcomic, we know that Suda's memory was failing before she became a Cephalon, and she continues to express this during the quest, before Hunhow reveals himself. Since we have so little information to go off of, I am going to assume that the Sentients can corrupt and destroy information, even in an organic mind. So what does that mean for Ordan Karris, the Beast of Bones? Hunhow specifically mentions him in the boss fight, so is it possible that Ordan's clan was merely a pawn of Hunhow, sent to destroy the Orokin before Natah was conceived (thought of, not born/created) or had infiltrated? Just some food for thought. 

As for my speculation mentioned earlier (I may make a full "Half Baked Theory" about all this in the future), what if Simaris and Suda had some relationship before they became Cephalons? We know that Suda forgot her lover's name (webcomic again), and we know that Simaris went against his better judgement to help her in the quest. My thought is that he helped her out of love, having remembered who she was (his former lover) and rather than telling her that when he helped her, he told her that he did it to protect his Sanctuary so that he didn't hurt her by telling her that he was her lost love. 

Fourth: Chronology

Spoiler

This is more of a nitpick than anything, but having played quests in the order they came out, it struck me as a bit odd that Hunhow is back in the spotlight after The War Within. I understand that it is meant to be played before The War Within, but it was a bit strange to me, playing it after the fact. Would it be possible to release an official timeline of quests and the order they officially take place in?

Well, until I replay it, that's all I've got for feed back right now.