Here's another thread, this time for Urban Fantasy Settings, such as Vampire the Masquerade, Dresden Files, Ghostbusters, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer- a blend of modern day and mythic beings, this genre is ripe for potential, although not every series takes advantage of it.
I'll divide this into three categories: the Urban (the modern "real world" elements), the Fantasy (the magical "fantasy" elements), and Union (how these two elements interact.)
To start, I'll go with what inspired this thread in the first place: The Unsleeping City, from Dimension 20.
[Note: there is some stuff that, while not strict spoilers, are definitely things that get brought up later, so I'd advise not reading this if you plan on watching. If you like D&D and Urban Fantasy, it is awesome!]
Urban: Brennan Lee Mulligan, a native New Yorker, brings life to the city in the game, and the players characters help bring out various aspects (from the sewers to Broadway) in intriguing ways. While it does fall into the trend of making various real-world individuals into characters, I don't really mind it that much since it manages to incorporate them in ways that make sense for the setting. 4/5
Fantasy: The fantasy elements are very interesting-while it derives a lot from Dungeons and Dragons, which is the system used for the game, it manages to make some elements unique-for example, the Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma are a unique take on the cleric and sorcerer, respectively. There is also the emphasis put on the Dream Realm, and how it relates between the various other portions of the Universe. It also manages to make fairies pretty interesting, as they require glamour in order to survive, rather than just have their magic fueled by it. 3.5/5
Union: the Unsleeping City is at its best when it shows the mixture between the real world city of New York and the magical world. It uses, of course, the trope of the Masquerade, which is explained as a veil over the eyes of normal citizens called the Umbral Arcana, which helps hide magic from them. It's basically the Mist from Percy Jackson, although in a much more adult setting. Another aspect is how both the Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma relate to the city itself, with the former representing the people and the latter dreams. Much of the worldbuilding is tied into this, which makes it really work as a fantastical setting. 4.5/5
I'll divide this into three categories: the Urban (the modern "real world" elements), the Fantasy (the magical "fantasy" elements), and Union (how these two elements interact.)
To start, I'll go with what inspired this thread in the first place: The Unsleeping City, from Dimension 20.
[Note: there is some stuff that, while not strict spoilers, are definitely things that get brought up later, so I'd advise not reading this if you plan on watching. If you like D&D and Urban Fantasy, it is awesome!]
Urban: Brennan Lee Mulligan, a native New Yorker, brings life to the city in the game, and the players characters help bring out various aspects (from the sewers to Broadway) in intriguing ways. While it does fall into the trend of making various real-world individuals into characters, I don't really mind it that much since it manages to incorporate them in ways that make sense for the setting. 4/5
Fantasy: The fantasy elements are very interesting-while it derives a lot from Dungeons and Dragons, which is the system used for the game, it manages to make some elements unique-for example, the Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma are a unique take on the cleric and sorcerer, respectively. There is also the emphasis put on the Dream Realm, and how it relates between the various other portions of the Universe. It also manages to make fairies pretty interesting, as they require glamour in order to survive, rather than just have their magic fueled by it. 3.5/5
Union: the Unsleeping City is at its best when it shows the mixture between the real world city of New York and the magical world. It uses, of course, the trope of the Masquerade, which is explained as a veil over the eyes of normal citizens called the Umbral Arcana, which helps hide magic from them. It's basically the Mist from Percy Jackson, although in a much more adult setting. Another aspect is how both the Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma relate to the city itself, with the former representing the people and the latter dreams. Much of the worldbuilding is tied into this, which makes it really work as a fantastical setting. 4.5/5
