Release: 2017
Developer: Tarsier Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Gameplay Stats: 4 hours, 9/22 achievements, no DLC
Will this be a good game for Spooktober??
Visuals: This game is very interesting looking for sure. I love the stylized depictions of the furniture and the people. It is almost like playing a Tim Burton movie. The main character wearing a bright yellow raincoat was definitely weird at first, but I think this was actually a concession to help people keep track of their avatar in the game. My only complaint here is that the world is very dark, so not much stands out apart from your character. This lack of color left me at a loss for how to proceed more than once and I had to check a guide for a spot fairly early on, leading to a slight amount of frustration.
Audio: The music here was fine! Tense when it needed to be, minimal when it didn't. I don't think I can remember any of the music off the top of my head, for better or worse. I will say though that the sound effects in the game were very good though. Lots of unnerving noises coming from your pursuers and all the right creaks and groans that you would expect from being on giant metal ships.
Gameplay: Apart from being stuck a couple of times, the game plays pretty well! Once I kind of got used to what I was looking at I was able to more or less parse what I was supposed to do. I don't think the gameplay is going to compel many people though, it's got about as much depth as Limbo, which is to say that it's not a deep experience. My only quibble here was with throwing objects. I either missed or didn't understand that you could throw objects harder/higher depending on how long you held a button so I was stuck for a good 10 minutes trying to pull/push all of the objects in the room when a high throw was first required.
Plot: I genuinely wish there was some exposition here. The world was so interesting looking that I really wish we were told more about it. I guess this minimal description was more interesting in that we could kind of write our own story, but I would've liked more world building for sure. I liked being able to ascribe some motivation to my character, but I do wish they would've said more about the world.
I had heard such good things before starting the game, and I think that might have set me up for disappointment. This game was definitely beautiful, but I think I might have a hard time recommending it. It was very stylish for sure, but I really don't think there was much substance to be had. I can't shake the feeling that my own expectations got in my way with this one. [6/10]
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