Hello, posting again same day, I know... SLAY! Anyways, hearing the whole story of telltales the walking dead season 3 through Cory Kenshins lense was PHENOMENAL! I mean, this was probably one of the most impacting let's plays of this specific game because he actually gave it a chance, unlike others. And how he portrayed his outcomes made it amazing to watch!
I think without Cory, I wouldnt have cared so much about the story as I never did. But now, I care a little more. Especially about Kate's relationship to the other characters. He made me realize the actual toxicity she had, and disdain she portrayed after so many times trying to keep their relationship nuetral as a brother in law. More on that later. But the story that prospered, the more I heard him basically carry on how the walkers arent the only problem, but then conveniently come out of nowhere is always a tall tale of whats to come. But Cory made it into like an actualization of what would he have done if this was real life. And then when the intensity of different scenes came along, he would choose the moral high ground. For instance. Bashing the man's head in with the bat, he could have kept going if he wanted to, but listened to reason. And another instance would have been hitting his brother back, but chose love instead. The fact Cory kept the morality in check, shows that this game's decisions DOES have impact to your story.
And how I know this is true, specifically in this season, is that i never seen the ending he got. The fact Kate was still alive, but kept her distance. I got the one where she died, and pewdiepie got the one where they are together. Its strange, but I never knew how different endings can leave you feeling different about the characters.
He loved Javier! And seeing this dynamic was fascinating because it shows that a new character can always have some sort of good. And the reactions he had when Javi was faced with danger, or the build up of the character, Cory realized you cant just play as Lee anymore. You had to change trajectory, but be mindful. But also boisterous. And his love for clementine never stopped, making me realize that clem had a bigger impact in this than I ever remembered. It was nice to say the least.
With the family, he realized Gabe needed discipline and always kept Gabe in check, even when Gabe literally said he hated him. He made sure to be a role model that is set out to be, not what is hypocritical. Mariana, he called Marianara Sauce... BRO HAD ME CRACKING UP! But, we both gasped seeing it again. Then he kept joking about the maraianara sauce dripping from her head LOL. And his brother, I always forget the name of. He tried to ensure that love was worth more than the disdain or hatred that may have built over the years. Brotherly love, protection, and even looking up to him in some instances. Even if he got a temper tantrum, he still kept the peace with him. And Kate...
This was completely a 180° for me because I always thought that we needed that relationship foundation in order to keep the mediation. Either you love her closer than a sister in law, or you grow apart. But Cory changed my mind on this because now seeing it, its family. Not just some long losing connection. You would treat a sister in law as your sister that you knew for years. Matter of fact, I agree with Cory that it was weird telltale romanticized them WAY too much tbh.
The only other relationships I haven't touched upon yet would be with Kenny and clementine. The fact that they took Kenny away from us in the way they did, still pisses me off. Ill never forgive them for that, because it was still the part of, why add that ending in there if it had no difference in clems story... but, overall, hearing his voice, we could tell that the bond could have never been ever better.
And with AJ, I swear. The fact that we felt something being torn away from us by force, after all this time, just erks me. It erked Cory too because there were barely any reasons to add that in the story, other than to find a way to bring clementine back into the timeline. Unfortunately, I didnt like that as the moral reason why.
He was as observant in many instances when he read the room. Reading the room is important to multiple situations, and one of the best examples was the take over of Prescott. He knew exactly how to react and giving himself up was a good choice. And the situation with Conrad was another. He had to do it in order to protect his nephew. Its like the situations play themselves out tbh. But, the most imperative moments was when he saw the love in every situation. With the brother beating him up. He chose the right was to respond. And especially when clementine reminiscing over AJ, the fact he hugged her, realizing she needed that comfort. Even Cory playing it I almost cried. Sheesh.
And when we look at the interactions of the surroundings, I feel like with so much actually taking place, he wasnt able to scout everything like you normally could in the other two seasons. Which is why Cory stuck with mostly story driving and character build ups. Which, I will give a pass on this one just because too much kept happening.
I have to give his playthrough the best score ever. A freaking 11/10. Probably one of the only gameplays that ever changed my mind on how i felt about a game. And I was shocked to ever feel as connected to a game as to when Cory played it. So, for Cory, thank you for giving it a chance and never giving up on it like others.