Adriel Genet - Super Daryl Deluxe (2018)

 

Composer: Adriel Genet
Console: Steam, GoG, Epic
Game Release Date: 2018-04-02
Soundtrack Release Date: 2018-04-10
Runtime: 01:48:02, 33 Tracks

When a New Year starts there are always a few games I can tell early on are automatic GOTY candidates. This being one of the first games this year, I could tell just from the trailer that it would be a suitable GOTY candidates. Having beaten the game 6 months ago I was right. It was GOTY for a good chunk of the year. It's not anymore but that's not to say I didn't absolutely love this game.

This is a game, iirc I heard from /r/metroidvania posting a trailer for it. It sat on my wishlist for some time and eventually I got to playing it. I started my run late last year and eventually completed the game in March. I believe it started round December of last year. It was developed by Dan & Gary Games. 
This is Super Daryl Deluxe, a metroidvania that is so unique the only game I can really compare it to is Citizens of Earth (has a similar sort of wackiness). When discussing it with friends I always referred to it as Wayside: The Game. If you don't know what Wayside is, it's just an old cartoon show about a strange school. (Though thinking back on it, I know realize Detentionnaire would have been a better comparison). 

You play as Daryl Whitelaw, a new student at the formerly prestigious Water Falls High School. From there Daryl attends the few classes they actually have and runs around the school, making 'friends' and exploring the school. That's a basic summation of the plot and just the tip of what turns into a massive sci-fi, time-travel, historical and almost mythological journey into what the school's administration was up to. 

I will say though, each of the classrooms had their own worlds inspired by the subjects they were a part of. You get to meet tons of historical figures too. 

Like Detentionnaire and Wayside I don't want to give out too much of the plot as to why the school is that way and why the world is like that. You'll have to play to find out. I will say that things get crazy really fast. It leaves you questioning, 'just what the hell did they do?'

Gameplay-wise it's a metroidvania with Daryl obtaining powers from a book called 'Interacting With Others'. The whole map is this massive maze with plenty of side quests and things to find encouraging lots of backtracking. Despite me calling it a 'metroidvania' it is pretty linear at parts with certain parts of the game only being accessible after certain events and the chapters of the game being split into days. I don't know. I'm gonna keep calling it a metroidvania even if it sort-of isn't. 

Throughout the game you obtain pages from the book giving you unique abilities and 'weapons'. For example, Cast Your Doubts would have you throw poison knives in a 180 degree angle, hitting everything around you. 

The weapons were outstanding. I never had so much fun using all the weapons. What with their outlandish use, the upgrade system, the descriptions, etc. They were a pleasure to use. Even doing multiplayer its total chaos when everyone has a completely different load out. 

As for the plot, my favourite part had to be the whole Mongol-Franco-Roman 3-way war. Yeah, just try to explain that to a history buff and they get all antsy about the possibilities. Or what about the Time Knight and his goblin army versus nearly all the great empires of antiquity at the SAME TIME. There was so much insanity and cool stuff going on; it's hard to see it all in just one run. 

As I was doing my Chill Manor run at the same time it provided a good backdrop. 

And the side quests were great too. There was only one I really had issue with. A Study in Blue, Part II. It got to the point where I was nearing the endgame and still hadn't done it. 

Best side quest or one of the best had to be the one where you recruit people for the Oasis. It's not clear if at the end of the game they survive but I sure hope so. 

During the brief multiplayer sessions we had for some reason the cutscene volume was triple what it was supposed to. This resulted in it sounding 'deep fried' or 'bass boosted'. We never did find out exactly what caused it. 

The final boss (er, second form I guess?) it was the most epic fight in the whole game. The way the boss teleported around plus me spamming Multifaceted Approach made the whole thing look like a damn DBZ fight. 

It even ended super climatic. I was on one health, the boss too. I missed a jump and was about to fall to my death but managed to use Multifaceted Approach and teleported just close enough to deal the final blow. It was enough that the cutscene following cancelled out my death. Definitely one of the coolest things I have seen in recent times. 

I gotta say, Multifaceted Approach was probably my favourite move. Shame I got it so late. Speaking of that ability, Monica / Literature Student was by far my favourite character. Don / Time Knight was a close second. Monica's whole story was super interesting and I definitely recommend completing that questline. I find it kind of a shame that the D&D club is left in the dark about what happened but I get it. She did not deserve what happened to her. Don to, but he still did a lot of fucked up stuff. It was never explained what happened to Don's sister but I can imagine. All around, despite goofy appearances the game was very depressing. Even the ending is kind of ambiguous what happens to the remaining students (excluding Daryl and co).

Here's a screenshot of my final loadout. Yes, we go all in with the Time Knight. RIP DON! 
My final loadout, and by far the best weapons I had were A-Side: Penetrating Gaze, Reap What You Sow, Multifaceted Approach and Ride the Tide. Reap What You Sow was definitely my second most favourite ability. I just got a thing for scythes. Hell, even if the ability didn't do much damage I would have kept using it. 

My B-Side was Faux Pow, Debate Dissimilarities, Cast Your Doubts and Cutting Corners. Shoutout to Cutting Corners for being one of the first abilities to get and me taking it to the end of the game. It's just that good. Same with the dash skill Quick Retort. It was by far one of the best skills. It was only late game that I finally replaced it. I swapped it with Lightning Wit. That ability reminded me a bit of the jetpack in Cave Story. 

Despite doing all the side quests there were still a few things I had to do, namely the gym stuff. For some reason my game just kept crashing on completing a mission there so I just gave up. I still have a multiplayer run ongoing so we'll get to it eventually. 

I've asked them about a sequel or spin-off (as there was plenty that could be covered such as the war in South America) but they said it's unlikely. The duo are working on a new game and I am pretty excited for it. I guess it could be possible to have a "Final Mix" type DLC for the game, just explaining some extra bits (like how the intro fit into the story or have a Babe Ruth boss fight, etc) but it's okay for now. There's more than enough stuff in this game to tide me over. 

Though it isn't anymore, this was my GOTY for a good chunk of 2022. 

The music was composed by Adriel Genet, a Franco-American musician currently based out of Washington, DC, USA. As for solo work this appears to be his only release. He is also notable a member of the rock band, Burn the Ballroom, though between this and his band it's hard to say which is more popular. I'd say he is mostly known for the soundtrack.

I liked all the music in the game and the soundtrack isn't afraid to jump around and try different styles. Being a game with heavy time travel in it , Genet ensures there are songs in all sorts of genres, experimenting heavily. There's straight up medieval and fantasy songs, techno, full on rock and more. By far the best song is Pain in the Asp, one I still listen to occasionally. I absolutely loved the way he flipped the "oh my god" sample. When I first heard that in the Asp fight I was shocked. So good!  

Bandcamp: https://adrielgenet.bandcamp.com/album/super-daryl-deluxe-original-soundtrack