Orion here, with a special report from the front lines.
A few months ago, I uninstalled Dota 2. Yes, you read that right — I purged my computer of all memory of the game. To be honest, it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made as a gamer to date. Unbeknownst to me, I would soon be filling the void with a game with similar origins, but a different path in its life span.
Why I Stopped Playing Dota 2, and Found Inner Peace Playing Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World
For those who’ve actually played a game with me, they know I truly loved hit casual game Dota 2. Going off-lane bottom jungle as my best (and probably only playable) character, Nature’s Prophet — because lord knows I sucked as Drow Ranger carry — I was a damn glass cannon. I just loved the gameplay. The time spent learning which items to buy and why they were important for each character, how to counter characters, the learning of the roles, and which character they’re best suited for. As Nature’s Prophet, one of my best memories is still off-lane juggling, running around blasting trees into lanes, teleporting, and taking down towers. It was a gosh-darn beautiful gong show — heck, in the end, lining up my teammates for making unreal plays and lining up killer ganks was truly a fun time, and actually having a chance to learn from each loss was amazing as well. There was so much depth to the game — just the strategy to play, the learning of roles and playing with friends. It was a Biblical time.
Unfortunately life happens and people get busy, and you start playing pub matches. For the love of God, if you haven’t done a solo pub match, and you still love the game, I don’t think there’s anything else in the world I would recommend avoiding more. My experience there was, well, similar to putting my hand into a moving blender. Too many Try Hards yelling and screaming senselessly, beaking at their teammates, and I’m called a Casual. Some of those players basically going at each others’ throats, teammates calling each other out in world chat, senseless name calling and yelling “MID OR FEED” and other nonsense for griefing. The toxicity became too much, and fed up with having a negative experience and having my passion for the game fully tarnished, I benched the game.
So instead of continuing to be a Casual and attempting to have fun in a team game, I simply uninstalled the game and let it sit in a digital locker where it will stay.
I decided to try out a few other games to fill the now-empty void of fun-while-casual “team games”; I gave Loadout an honest shot, I played Destiny. As fun and engaging as those games were, they led me back to my original path of passion: FPS. I kept searching and looking but nothing could fill the now-empty void, until one day I went on Steam and was searching specials. It’s there I found Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World. It almost seemed too good to be true, but here I was, face-to-face with lowercase-d destiny.
At first glance, I simply said “this looks like a train wreck,” which is probably what prompted me to buy it, but once I installed it I knew there was no buyer’s remorse. This… this was meant to be. It was the multiplayer masterpiece I was looking for, and more.
Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World makes us face a harsh reality: global warming, and the destruction of the environment by humans. If there is a game more metal or brutal please let me know, because this game’s storyline and plot is darker than my coffee.
While the game itself is a revolutionary take on penguin combat, it also brings forth the true effects we’re having on the penguins’ natural habitat — both the real and 3D-animated one. We’ve messed them both up pretty wicked. The game hits some very serious notes — not only does it present you with the world these penguins face, but the developer actively advocates for protecting the penguins’ natural habitat.
The gameplay is focused around four penguin tribes fighting to survive the stark reality of global warming with melting ice caps and pollution by humans. Now to appease their ancient Penguin Goddess, only one tribe will survive, and they must battle to the death. With a battlefield loaded with four penguin tribes battling it out for survival supremacy, we are made aware of the brutality of this game. A species is driven to the point of extinction, and their Goddess is making them participate in a blood sport where the losing tribe is literally sacrificed to bloodthirsty orcas. THIS IS REAL, FOLKS.
Comparing Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World to Dota 2 — Dota’s back story is deep and rich, however it is always about the hero, and not how the game can change or impact the actual physical world.
If that doesn’t ruin your day like spilled coffee to the groin, maybe this will.
The multiplayer in Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World is simple, fast-paced, eloquent, and revolutionary for the FPS genre. And let’s be honest — I find it more engaging and challenging, as it offers the player more of a genuine fight for survival as you slide across the icy battlefield. Diving further into the gameplay, the player gets thrown into four unique game modes over 15 different iceberg battlefields. Players can do battle with their customized penguin, which you don’t have to spend any money on to enjoy… and it’s also been designed to be a LAN game.
I gained more satisfaction in battling fellow penguins tribesmen — and of course dying at the hand of Orcas — in the last few weeks, than in my last few years playing Dota 2.
Really, though, this is just my opinion. If you’re in the same situation where MOBAs have lost their flair and “wow” factor, I invite you to try it out and see for yourself. Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World can be found on the Steam Store for $6.49 CDN.
Orion is a Senior Editor for aybonline.com. When he’s not alphabetically organizing his collection of spoons, you can find him at your local thrift store looking for the answers to life, the universe, and everything. His opinions are his own; kinda like a balanced breakfast he doesn’t share that with anyone, ANYONE, you hear?
