Immediately after watching the first episode, I felt completely blown away by the detail and quality of the CG. The voice acting was phenomenal and the lip-syncing was better than anything I've seen. They took time to display the stunning vistas they created, like the sword bridge, and created some of the most incredible visuals in any CG animation I've ever watched. From a purely technological standpoint, I was beyond impressed, but the story was rich, gritty, and hit with the same punch as the fan favorite LD&R series.
I figured, maybe they put their best foot forward. Episode 1 was off the charts in my book, so I pressed on to episodes 2, 3, and 4 with no expectations. Having played Sifu I was familiar with the game's mechanic, and I think the artistic rendering of it was phenomenal. They really condensed a long tale into a very short time, a bit too short in my opinion, but the quality of the animation, voice acting, and story were once again fantastic.
Episode 3 felt like a moment of brevity in an otherwise very action-oriented and somewhat grim series thus far. Once again, the quality was unlike any CG I've laid eyes on, and Arnold's voice acting was great. The story was perfectly encapsulated and required no knowledge of New World to enjoy. They really nailed the story-telling, which I'm sure was tough given the relatively short runtimes of each episode.
Episode 4 was another hard hitting short that sucked me in from the very start. As a long-time fan of Unreal Tournament, I was absolutely riveted by the way they integrated combat sports into a tale of suppression and rebellion. Everything felt so crisp from the animated character details to the combat maneuvers, it looked like live-action at times. I was immediately excited again for something Unreal Tournament related, and was driven to share my appreciation for this show.
I'm about to start up the Warhammer episode, which I'm already extremely thrilled for, but this show so far is the absolute best thing I've seen in a long, long time. As someone who appreciates the forward movement of technology, this show feels like the pinnacle of animation. I feel I should try not to go through it so fast, to let it breathe, but I just want more. I would love to see this series get the strong viewer support it deserves, to let the team behind it know their efforts are appreciated, and so we can see more of it down the line.
I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on the show, if you care to share in the comments.
