Part 18: Episode XVIII: Don’t Get Killed

Episode XVIII: Don’t Get Killed



I doubt Koudelka ventured here expecting to witness a murder-suicide from a prolific serial killer couple. But that’s just one of the many hazards present in any ill-conceived trip to the dark realm known as Wales. On the topic of desecration, before Koudelka continues forth, it seems like a good idea to loot Bessy’s body for any valuables. It’s not like she’ll be needing ‘em...



Bessy’s Rifle RD is a flat upgrade from the standard rifle in every way. At least, other than having six shots before reloading rather than twelve. That’d be a spiffy upgrade if, ya know... we actually used rifles in this playthrough.



A neat, for lack of a better term, little detail with the Rifle RD it is missing two bullets for what should be obvious reasons. Considering how 99% of the time new video game weapons come magically full on ammo as soon as they’re picked up, even if the last person using it was dumping bullets until they were dry, it’s a decent attention to detail. That said, that’s not actually what we want off Bessy’s corpse. If we examine her body, we get...





We’ve got a key to Patrick’s Room. Considering every other character outside the playable party is confirmed dead by this point, that seems like a decent place to go investigate next. Unfortunately, it’s a key to his room from an indoor room. The courtyard entrance is still a no-go. And even if it were, Koudelka refuses to climb over the Hartmans’ corpses and return outside.



It was hard to notice during the cutscene, but we’re back upstairs from the torture room where Ogden ambushed Koudelka. For some reason he saw it fit to lug her, his axe and... a murder table up that ladder to get his axe killing on. That seems like a lot of effort when there’s a perfectly good guillotine he could have employed right there. Ogden was a very troubled man...



The only way forward is back down into the blood splattered murder chamber downstairs. Now that Koudelka isn’t having Ghost Visions™ and getting blindsided by serial killers, we’re free to explore the room.



Trying to exit through the double doors results in this prompt. I think this might just be translated poorly. The game actually wants us to investigate the doors on the other side of the room because there might be someone skulking about over there. Spoilers: There’s absolutely nobody beyond this door. Unless you count random battles against zombies and we all know that no, that does not count.



Ogden was a far messier boy than first suggested. I can see why Bessy shot him. He’s clearly been negligent about cleaning up his gore piles after the previous few axe murders and now he was going to add even more mess to the pile with another girl? There’s got to be a limit.



To progress we need to investigate that semi-familiar looking door on the far end of the room. But before we do that, Koudelka’s head seems to be pivoting toward the blood sacrifice altar above the murder table. A closer inspection reveals...





Just your average mason jar full of human blood. I’m not going to ask where the jar part came from since it’s clearly just a bowl on a statue full of blood with no jar present whatsoever. But details... I’m sure it’ll feel right at home in Koudelka’s inventory next to the severed arm she’s still carrying around.

Anyway, about that door...



It seems the door is a no-go pushing or pulling. Let’s just ignore that big gap in the door clearly large enough for Koudelka’s rail thin ass to squeeze through. Climbing is not in Koudelka’s skillset. Unless it’s up onto rooftops or a key item is involved. With that in mind, the frustrated Koudelka gets ready to leave, until...



_Koudelka!
Edward.
Koudelka! Where are you?!
<runs to door> Over here! I’m over here!



Oh thank God! I was so worried. Are you OK? Are you hurt?
<checks herself over> No... I'm OK. How about you?
I almost got creamed by that monster. Luckily I went down the side hallway.
Yeah, lucky you running away like that...
I’ve punched a lot of weird things tonight. It wasn’t always a good idea. I wasn’t going to try my luck punching against that monster. But I guess your magic handled it since you’re still in one piece, right?
No... that thing was invincible. I just ran away in the other direction.
Oh... So that demon is... just still hanging out in the church?
Most likely.
That seems... troubling. Not that it’ll follow us this way.
Wall’s caved in. We can't get back to the sanctuary.



<pulls on door> Ugh!
I figured you'd escape to the garden and you’d be here. Thank God I took the underpass.
That’s a real leap in logic, but sure... <yanks door harder>
<gives up pulling on door and throws up hands> UGH! It’s no use! This door won’t open.
Dammit!
<slides into door frame>



Isn’t there another way out? Aren’t you underneath the arbor?
<looks over shoulder> There is. There is another door across from the cathedral.
The cathedral! That's right! There's got to be another way out, a secret passage or something.
Secret passage...
I guess I’m already in a secret passage but that doesn’t rule out this will lead to another one.
That’s the spirit!



<slides back into frame> OK, let’s split up. Koudelka, start from that door. We'll go along the wall. Find a place to regroup. Clear?
<nods> Got it.
Watch out for monsters or that creepy couple from earlier.
Oh... I don’t think we’re going to need to worry about them...
The monsters?
The caretakers.
Huh? Why?
...Long story. I’ll tell you about it later.
O... kay...
<starts to leave>
Koudelka...
Yeah?
Don't get killed.
Tch... Same to you.



Sage advice from Mr. Plunkett. Despite clearly not agreeing to meet anywhere and just hoping to link up further in, it seems we need to return to the Monastery Library to hook up with the boys again.



We’ve actually seen this door already from the other side back in Disc 2. It was in the same room as that Mortal Kombat ass looking acid pit room near where the gang fought the Mad Fly. That’s a decent clip from the Library.



But if the game’s text narration says they’ll link up at the Library, I guess they’ll link up at the Library. Now that Koudelka has spoken with James and Edward, she’ll now allow herself to enter the door on the opposite side of the murder chamber.



Hey Temporary Save, you actually gave a location on the nose for a change. Good on you. It might be in our best interest to make a Temp Save here just in case. We wouldn’t want to have to rewatch all those cutscenes if an unfortunate incident befell Koudelka.



Especially since there’s another Mortal Kombat arena ass looking room and the familiar prompt of a looming boss fight again. A solo character boss fight, naturally. Everyone’s favorite JRPG match-up... Stepping forward reveals...


Music: Incantation Again



Meet the Gug. It’s like a Shokan from Mortal Kombat (a Goro boy for those not familiar with their Mortal Kombat lore ) boned a mantis man and out came this Z-List mutant. Despite having the very most ‘90s ass looking monster design we’ve seen so far, this creature is actually another monster ripped straight from H.P. Lovecraft.



Replace two paws on its arms with just four arms and yep... That kinda sounds like that. Gug isn’t a particularly swift creature. It turns out chicken feet aren’t the most adapt at transporting a four-armed weightlifter. It does have a walking animation I enjoy where it pounds its fist like a beat-em up lackey trying to be intimidating.





Gug is mostly a physical attack based creature, which should be obvious given its burly physique, but it does have a magical attack in its moveset. It employs the Slavic Squat to cast its eldritch magicks, which is also an amusing animation. The attack itself is just an Earth elemental magic that Koudelka shrugs off barely taking damage.



You know this game’s damage calculus is off when summoning a meteor shower is overshadowed in damage four times over by just shoulder checking the same person. I guess that’s what happens when your magical stats raise actual resistance to magic while your vitality stat just raises HP because hey... you can take more physical damage if you’ve got more health!



The final move in Gug’s stable of amusing animations is the most spastic windmill punch imaginable. At least he’s putting those extra limbs to good use with such a vicious assault.



Anyway, I had to redo this fight and have Koudelka hang out just to see any of Gug’s attacks. The brawny special boy here has 5329 HP. It’s an Earth elemental enemy, so its weakness is Wind elemental magic. And by weakness I mean it is cripplingly weak to Wind magic. They kind of over-tuned this fight in Koudelka’s favor since it’s a solo match.





By that I mean two casts of Tornado and this thing is done in no time flat. Especially with our Koudelka having Level 2 Tornado. If you’re wondering if we’re overleveled. Nope. I played through this the first time with about five less levels and a Level 1 Tornado and Gug still died in three casts instead of two. It’s just an extraordinarily weak boss.


Music: Level Up!





Our reward for slaying Gug is a sawed off “shotogun” if this description is to be believed. Like the Rifle RD, this is a flat upgrade to the original Shotgun 2. I’m fairly disappointed Gug didn’t just pull out a sawed off and blasted Koudelka mid-battle. Though given the amount of damage bullets do to our party compared to near everything else... perhaps that would have been a wee bit unfair.



In any case, that concludes Koudelka’s first and only solo character gimmick boss fight. Tune in next time as Koudelka continues her exploration of the seedy Nemeton underbelly, befriends some unusual dinguses and perhaps links up with the rest of the party as the worst night in Wales continues.






Video: Episode 18 Highlight Reel





Koudelka Concept Art – Ugh. Axe murder victim sludge is all over her boots.