Playing A Game Sine Mora PC

Sine Mora is a tough nut to crack. For starters, there's the name. It's Latin. The game was developed in Japan, and has voice-overs in ... Hungarian, but the title is Latin. Why not.

The storyline is also pretty hard to parse: not only because of its drip-fed explanations of the central war and its related factions, but also because it involves time travel, and is told in a mismatched, Pulp Fiction style. Or perhaps more accurately, a Memento style, since different parties know different things at different times, and since it deliberately plays with and defies the viewer's expectations at practically every turn. These vague hints and out-of-order events never really make any cohesive sense until the very end of the campaign.

Even the gameplay is a little perplexing, although it's rooted in simple schmup mechanics. Special weapons have bizarre and varying effects, depending on the specific mission. In-game time can be slowed with a collectible powerup, enabling easier attacks and dodges, but an on-screen timer continues counting down at a normal pace -- and depletes when hits are taken, acting as a life bar of sorts. And there are "permanent" weapon upgrade pickups, carrying over into subsequent missions, but these are reset to zero if otherwise-meaningless "continues" are used up. While the time-limit mechanic is much more forgiving than a traditional shoot-em-up, the use of continues is just ... weirdly anachronistic.

But Sine Mora's confusing elements add up to something surprisingly enthralling. Its core shooting gameplay is fun, with well-designed encounters and legitimately impressive boss fights. And the arcane premise and storytelling lend an air of mystery to the campaign as it progresses. Like a catchy K-pop song, being unable to understand it doesn't necessarily diminish how fun it is.

It helps that the game is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and that the camera-work in scripted fly-by sequences makes for some of the most beautiful vistas in modern gaming. (Actually, this sometimes works to the game's detriment, when the ship starts blending in with a colorful and varied backdrop. But on the whole, it's just really, incredibly good-looking.)

Sine Mora is a different sort of schmup. It's very forgiving to imperfections, it has a thoroughly-written story, and there are time-traveling animals flying amphibious airplanes. The game is about as outside-the-box as it can be, while still fulfilling the common requirements of a scrolling shooter. The result is a game that isn't exactly revolutionary, but is pleasantly accommodating, and undeniably fresh and unique.

Better than: Ikaruga
Not as good as: ... actually, I don't really have any better schmups to compare against.
And there are flashes of self-awareness, too: as in the fight against a boss named "SSOB PU DEKCUF."

Progress: Finished on Normal (mostly rank 'E').

Rating: Good