Playback: Enslaved Odyssey to the West

thesixthaxis.com:

In 2010, Enslaved Odyssey to the West made its entrance onto the gaming scene. It wasn’t the most challenging game out there, nor did it bring with it a defining gameplay mechanic, but Enslaved had something that made it stand out: the heart showcased by its characters and engaging story. Just like the recent Black Myth: Wukong, it takes inspiration from Chinese tale Journey to the West, and it’s a story that explores the themes of fear, loss, cooperation, and the changing nature of relationships, which is made all the better as central characters Monkey, Trip, and Pigsy interact with each other so well.

Revisiting Enslaved Odyssey to the West 14 years after its release, and the last time I played it, made me consider whether I’d been seeing the game through rose-tinted glasses. If we really want to be reductive, Enslaved Odyssey to the West is an escort mission spread out over eight hours. At the start of the game, Monkey and Trip, who do not know each other, escape from a slaver’s airship, crashing down into the ruins of our civilisation. The name of Enslaved comes from the very literal enslaving of Monkey by Trip. While Monkey is out cold, Trip crowns him with a slaver headpiece, which allows her to give him commands. It also links the two, so if Trip dies, Monkey dies. Trip is out in the real wider world for the first time, and in her first interaction with Monkey, she saw a musclebound man chasing and shouting at her.

Trip doesn’t enslave Monkey to use him as a tool, but to guarantee her own safety as she finds herself in the company of a man who could quite easily cause her serious harm. She doesn’t know his intentions, and this is the only way she feels that she can be safe. Of course, Monkey is unhappy with the situation but soon accepts his fate and works with Trip to get her home. The story doesn’t follow a typical master and slave theme though. In most situations, Monkey is in charge and takes control, often having to order Trip around to move to places or