Part 39: Episode 38: Aya Brea vs Diabetes

Last time, we discovered that the Shelter was housing its own personal Ape-schwitz and was moving on up to unspecified human experimentation! Namely on a deranged lunatic named Bowman.


Oh, and apparently Bowman turned into a hideous monster and ate some poor chump. I'm sure that will never come up again, however.


We duck out of the back door of the Breeding Room to find another L-shaped corridor.


This seems legit


BOO!


The attacking creature punches Aya in the stomach, causing green goo to spray out of its own arm. At least I think that's what happens. It happens really fast as my pro screen grabbing skills with attest.




Stringy Pete retreats back into his hidey hole in the ceiling.



: What the FUCK, man?




Would you believe this line is voice acted? Because it is.


A talking NMC? That's highly unusual. It's not like we just read a massive file about a ghoulish mutant who could talk, so I have no earthly idea what's going on!


Anyway, the creature disappears into the ceiling and we return to what we were doing, completely unaffected.


No, really, I checked. Despite the cutscene, the roof-monster's attack did nothing to us in game terms. HP and MP are the same as before, and we didn't get any status effects because those only exist during combat. Of course, it would be total bullshit for the game to have you take damage during an unavoidable cutscene, so I don't know why I'm complaining about this.


Oh well, let's just continue on our merry little way.


Cool, a door. Let's check it out.



: It's locked. There's a card reader to the side of the door...

Well, that's a dead end. Let's ask Aya what we should do next.


Whoa, look at all those Hot Zones just pop up. Anyway, Aya says we gotta head back upstairs, so we might as well.


The worms are back in the Breeding Room, along with a pair of Blue Blobs. I forgot to mention that Worms can spew out a small cloud of poison at close range. However, this attack has an even longer wind-up than the lunge, so your chances of getting hit with it are practically nil. Still, it is a thing that they can do.


They can also suck on lightning, the schmucks


Bog Divers are back, too. Guess what?


They're still super weak to fire.


Before we head upstairs, let's check out the rest of these doors, starting with the southmost one.



: It's locked.


Hmm, well what about this one that says "Laboratory"?


Fine. What's across the corridor from here?


Oh, another elevator! I think this one goes to the...


"Particular Area". Okay, sure, whatever you say game.


This one actually works, so let's go check out this particular area.


Sweet sound system, bro.


On the other side of the lift, there's a gaggle of turrets ("gaggle" is the plural of mechanical sentries, right?) and another door. We'll just deal with these particular foes right quick.


Strangely, Aya has nothing to say about these kickin' speakers. Betcha she has something to say about that elevator, though!


Called it.

: M-My mitochondria pulse in sync... enkindled (sic)... trembling... A normal human couldn't withstand this--even for a second. I might be in trouble myself.


Basically, mitochondria are adamantly against sequence breaking, so we'd better get back to what the plot wants us to do.


There's nothing else we can do down here for the time being, so let's go find Stringy Pete.


man, I love having wizard powers


Anyway, we're back up here in the Sterilization Room. I decided to drop my pistol and its ammo in the storage crate because YEEEAH SHOTGUNS.


We also learn that NMCs are dumber than some household pets. Neat.



: They're very thorough. At least they were before they shut down the system.


seems legit


WELP






So, now we're slowly being suffocated by toxic gasses. Feel free to fill in your own fart jokes as needed.


We're actually in control here, by the way, and that gas WILL kill us. It will slowly tick away at our health as long as we dick around in here, so we need to find an exit, pronto.


The door's a no-go, but maybe the intercom will work. Maybe there's someone helpful and awesome on the other side. Like Daniel Dollis!



: Please! Someone open the chamber!




: What!? Who is that?


Okay, so no help there. We can probably assume whoever that was turned on the fumigation system, though, so we'll make a mental note to shoot him in the face later. What's left in here?


Of course! The garbage chute! Now we're talking action movie escapes!


I don't care what you smell, Aya, get in there!








See, other games would've just had Aya open the chute then fade to black and POOF you're in the next area! But they actually animated our protagonist desperately clambering into a dark vent to escape certain death, and I appreciate that sort of thing.




and then I go and miss Aya dropping out of the chute and crashing comically to the ground. I am the worst screen capper







: Oh, gross.


So, Aya just narrowly escaped suffocation with a lungful of toxic chemicals, then dropped some 20 feet and crashed on a pile of metal crates, hypodermic needles, and biological refuse. Her response?

"Ouch."

Aya Brea does not give a FUCK


So, this where the Shelter dumps all its junk. Man, I hope those space toilets don't empty out in here.


smells like poo gas



: Wow... There's quite a lot left in here.

There's two ammo crates down here, one on either side of the room. One contains 9mm Parabellum, the other has 9mm Hydra. I ignore both of them, but clearly the developers did want you to be stranded down here with no ammo.


Can't imagine why. This place seem pretty safe.


OH GOD OSCAR IS PISSED








oh my

Boss Tunes


Meet the Glutton.


The Glutton is a huge motherfucker with skin like leathery steel. Attacking him normally has little effect.


Luckily, the Glutton's preferred method of attack is to open that massive jaw and suck in the surrounding objects, not unlike Kirby. His open mouth, however, is his weak spot, so any hits you can land during this attack do normal damage. Anything not nailed down gets pulled in, including Aya herself.

And what happens if you get pulled too close during this attack?






Pretty much what you expect: Instant gruesome death.


So, the basic plan is to take your pot shots from a distance, and when you get too close, turn and haul ass. The tank controls can make this a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy enough.


When the camera angle switches to this overhead shot, it means the Glutton is about to bust out his second attack. Basically, he spews globs of what I dearly hope is acid into the air, and they rain back down in a random pattern. Keep an eye on the shadows to see where the acid is coming down, and this attack should pretty much never hit you.


If you have enough room, you can even get off a spell during his Kirby attack. Unfortunately, he's immune to Poison, so Necrosis isn't a good plan. He has a distinct weakness to Fire, though, so Pyrokinesis can deal out a lot of hurt.


Here, I've switched to the shotgun for greater damage, and it gives me an opportunity to point out the two other targets in this fight. Both of the Glutton's shoulders can be targeted, but only damaging the mouth hurts the boss. Racking up enough hits on a shoulder can be worthwhile, however, as it can stagger the boss, leaving his open mouth vulnerable to free hits.


That's the result of a single Pyrokenesis, by the way. Heartburn's a hell of a thing.


Our opponent has one last trick up his sleeve. Those holes on its shoulders? Yeah, they can spray acid.


This can be tricky to dodge, because of the way the camera angles and spray effect make it appear to be everywhere at once, but if you move towards the camera and towards the Glutton, you can avoid the grossness.


Occasionally, the Glutton gets frustrated at its inability to catch Aya, and stomps the ground.


This stomp causes failed experiments to come flying out of the chutes. In this case, we get to meet the Mad Strangers.


Mad Strangers are completely immobile and harmless. All they can really do is lay on the floor and laugh. Yes, they laugh. Like cackling hyenas. They are dismembered corpses that do nothing but laugh at you. Thanks for the nightmares, Parasite Eve!


Anyway, you need to blast these fuckers ASAP. If the Glutton hoovers them up, they heal him for 100 HP a pop. This asshole has enough health without the snacks, so make them a priority.


Also, if he eats a Mad Stranger, he will then spit the chewed corpse at you for a good 30~40 points of damage. This is the most disgusting boss.


This, by the way, is Apobiosis. It fucking rules. It summons a massive purple lightning storm to kill the fuck out of shit! Aya now wields the might of Thor himself!


As the fight progresses, the Glutton slowly advances on your position, eventually backing you right up against the door. Between this, the instant death attack, and the sheer size of the boss, this fight can be pretty tense.

Unless you've done it before. Once you know everything the Glutton can throw at you, it's really pretty easy, it just takes a long time.

Edit: Dr. Abysmal reminded me that the Glutton actually has another attack he uses once you get backed against the door. He basically slams you onto the ground with his tongue like some sort of super gross hammer punch. It does a fair chunk of damage, so keep moving when he rears back to avoid it.






Eventually, the behemoth collapses in a massive diabetic pile.




His death throws tear a cable from the ceiling, which unlocks the door somehow? Whatever, at least we can leave now.





Before we go, Aya has some thoughts to share about the monstrosity we just felled.

: The stench in the air reminds me of rotten fish. Its body...looks like it's made out of several organisms. It must have grown from discarded experiments. I almost had the pleasure of joining them.





: A living creature, discarded like garbage...

Jeez, Aya, way to rain on my victory parade.

: It looks dead, but it hasn't melted. Maybe the shock merely stunned it? A fight in close quarters like this would be bad. I'd better find a way out, and quick!


This console by the door is a little concerning.

: Looks like the shock just now activated it. The monitor display reads "UNLOCK."


Well, guess that means we can ditch this joint.


Ah, freedom from poo gas at last.




WHAAA?


THE MCRIB IS BACK