Episode 97: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

Retro Spectives

The Chronicles of Riddick, when it first released in 2004, was the definition of mediocre sci-fi schlock. Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, came across as a generic edgelord, and it seemed to lean into special effects and spectacle over anything more substantial. It's a direction that didn’t play well with critics, nor with the fans of the previous entry, Pitch Black.

So it was to everyone’s surprise when a videogame set in this same world was released to widespread critical acclaim. Vin Diesel, under his macho exterior, was secretly a bit of a geek, and was heavily involved in the development. Critics praised just about every aspect of this short and tightly-made prison-escape, from the visuals, to the stealth, to the characterisation.

But were those critics simply wowed by the glossiness of a cinematic FPS? Are the individual gameplay mechanics in Riddick actually fun in their own right? Or is this just another mid-2000’s hybrid FPS game that is better off forgotten?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Structure.
  To this day, Escape from Butcher Bay’s non-conventional structure continues to impress modern audiences. Did it impress us?
  
• Stealth, shooting and investigation.
  Individually, these are sub-par. So what’s Riddick’s secret that brings these together into something special.
  
• Characterisation.
  Is Vin Diesel’s beloved character simply a generic action hero, or is there more to him than meets the eye? As a prequel, does Butcher Bay limit Riddick’s potential for development? Or does it set up Pitch Black’s captivating final moments.

We answer all these questions and more on the 97th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Riddick OST: Gustaf Grefburg

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Is it worth watching the third Riddick movie, or is it just more of the same? Are there any other obvious influences we forgot to mention outside of repeatedly calling out Half Life? Is Dark Athena as bad as the reviews suggest? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!