The Procession to Calvary Review (PS4)

Humor comes in as many flavors as the number of people inhabiting different corners of the Earth. One of the most influential comedy groups have been the surreal Monty Python, and The Procession to Calvary seem to have taken a shine to their style of sketch comedy. The gags you will find in the game are anything but politically correct, nothing is sacred to the developer, while the historic and artistic background amplifies the irreverent sense of humor.

If you are easily offended you should avoid The Procession to Calvary because the game is meant to make you laugh by defiling some of the serious beliefs we currently hold. But if you feel at ease with an innocent laugh even at the most ironclad credence and you have a wider perspective about sacrilege you will fell in love irrevocably with the game developed by Joe Richardson.

The concept of the game based on using renaissance pictures as the means to bring to life the whole world is not exactly novel if you are familiar with the works of Monty Python. But it is extremely refreshing to see it adapted into an indie videogame. After being launched some time ago for PC, the time of a console port has come, the perfect occasion to see if the peculiar sense of humor can live up to the expectations.

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The story is meant to be epic, dramatic, and even epicurean although in fairness it is pretty short. It all starts with murders and decapitations, the main character of the game being a feminine angel of death who discovered her calling during a Holy War. She has tremendous fun stabbing or slashing people until she is told she is no longer allowed to continue with this careless killing spree. The Holy War is over Heavenly Peter has been defeated, and the new bossman, Immortal John has outlawed murders and any form of killing.

But Peter managing to slip away from the new regime means that our heroine founds herself again ding what she knows and enjoys, hunting down the traitor and eliminating all obstacles in her way. Following your self-chosen mission, the game lets you handle things your way: you can either try to figure out the puzzles and enjoy the trip full of irreverent jokes and puns, or you can use your sword and slice through any opposition you may encounter.

Although the first path is much funnier and longer, both options are worth a playthrough. It is a trip in the mind of someone who is not afraid to make a joke out of everything and anything. You will find Jesus represented as a modern-day street magician and con artist, you will meet a woman with a particular business sense, selling t-shirts with the face imprints of the executed, a souvenir for the entire family, you will help some demons appease their boss, or even priests taking a nap in stone coffins.

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The game does not take anything seriously, not even itself, so you will encounter divine interventions as means of self-parody. The gameplay itself is very simple, the inventory being actually superfluous since you will automatically use any item at the right place after you managed to get them. If you chose the path of violence, you cannot expect real combat; it is just a way to get faster to your main target. The puzzles are very easy and the whole appeal of the game is in its art style and sense of humor.

If you are familiar with classical paintings, you will recognize most of the artwork the game is based upon. Even the name The Procession to Calvary is borrowed from a painting made by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The grotesque animation is part of the fun and the peculiar visual world of the game, just as is the soundtrack. Everything is in the service of the brilliant humor of the developer and is made to make you laugh and leave the real world behind for a couple of hours.

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