An Autist Reviews: The Belly Of The Beast (Missy 1.4)

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

Digging deeper and deeper into the planet, slaves Aleyna, Cort, and Sath are trying to survive. Between the psychotic guards and the monstrous kobolds, the three will need each other to survive the machinations of the ruthless Missy and Dr. Goodnight. Joining the rebellion, Aleyna and her friends prepare to defeat Missy and uncover whatever horrific secrets hide within the planet and Missy’s citadel… but are they ready for what they’ll find?

God this is weird. This is one of only two stories that I have ever heard that have been as odd… Normally there are good parts and bad parts to a story, and while they still are here… they are mostly overshadowed by the just plain decent parts… And I don’t actually know how to rate that really… I took 6 pages of notes, but I’m not gonna use them, I remember enough to talk about this without going through the pain of going through my horrible notes.

So, let’s start with the base story… it’s good enough, but there are issues with how things come about, with some ideas being introduced for no reason and people doing things for no reason. Also, this story seems like some things, in hindsight, are from the twists, but then that’s disagreed with by the statements of the characters, and then it’s confirmed by the characters. So which is it? So many things just happen for no understandable reason, and when reasons are given they are either contradictory or just weird. The pacing is also insane, as you go from, say, the main trio being taken in by the rebels, to the rebels instantly enacting the plan that Aleyna came up with and there’s no semblance of time passing or of a good transition. The humor is great in this story, but it certainly doesn’t make up for the weird dialogue with horribly inserted exposition, some of which doesn’t even matter. Oh, and those twists? They’re given away very quickly but then treated as some big reveal. Honestly, the story is a decent listen, I enjoy it, but it’s such a dumpster fire when you look at it closely. The story, honestly, is just vaguely good. It’s decent enough, so, it’s not like it’s going to sour your mouth, but it is pretty bland and is a steep downgrade from the previous stories.

The acting might be the best part of this story… but even then, it’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The side characters, of which there are very few, are the worst by far, but they get so few lines that it’s perfectly serviceable, as with most of this story. The main trio are really the worst here. They have really great moments, but also moments where their acting is just… off somehow. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like you can tell that they weren’t really into it. But they, too, are really just pretty decent, with no real standout achievements, but nothing really too bad. So, I’m going with an 8, since it’s the best rating I can think of fitting their acting. Missy, however, is a shining beacon of perfection, as expected. Her and Dr. Goodnight are brilliant, with Dr. Goodnight acting very oddly, but perfectly once the character's true nature is revealed! The guards are a little odd, with them never sounding completely into what they’re saying, but, as per usual, it’s fine enough and Missy and Dr. Goodnight easily make up for it.

The music here is weird too. It’s great music, but it usually doesn’t enhance scenes, and it can also be completely missing at times or way too quiet to really make an impression. The voice effects are amazing, aside from the effect on the guards and on the kobolds, both of which are just plain weird and annoying. Dr. Goodnight has a really unique and unnerving voice which, when you find out his true nature, is so perfect. Another good example, would be from a scene just before the kobolds speak, and that is really good, and I wish it had carried over to the kobolds instead of… what happened on the elevator only. The background effects were, as expected, amazing, but they also were occasionally too vague to really get a handle on where the characters were or what exactly was happening, but generally, the effects were amazingly detailed. The transition effects were almost nonexistent, and when they did show up, they made no sense given the situation, however nice of transitions they might have been. The worst transition is the transition from dreaming Aleyna to awake Aleyna, or the effects as Aleyna almost dies at the beginning of the story. Now, the action effects… this was the easiest to rate because unlike the rest of the things here, the action effects were a mix of bad and good. The gunshots were too quiet, the footsteps were on point, the elevator scene was amazing, but the elevator was basically silent. There are many effects that seem to be missing or quieter than makes sense, which is, admittedly, okay, but it’s not deserving of any higher rating than an 8.

Finally, replay. As mentioned earlier, so many scenes actually make more sense when listening for a second time, but many also make less sense or are just plain weird when you listen again. It’s easily ignorable, but it does knock the rating down some. As for real enjoyment, it’s fine. You won’t be wanting to listen to it on repeat, or at all for a while, but you won’t groan at needing to listen to it again, so, go wild if you want to.

This review sapped my energy. It’s such a mediocre story when you review it, but honestly, it’s fun and enjoyable if you’re just listening to listen… god, I hope Peep Show isn’t as boring to review as this!

Total - 6 (I dropped it one, but really, read the review, because this was REALLY weird to review!)

Plot - 7
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Story - 7
Pacing - 7
Dialogue - 7
Narration - NR
Exposition - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Twists - 6
Resolution/s - 9
Ending - 7

Acting - 8
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MCs - 8
SCs - 8
BGs - 9

Effects - 8
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Music - 7
Voices - 8
Actions - 8
Background - 9
Transitions - 6

Replay - 6
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Re-Enjoyment - 7
New Details - 4

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