With The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space on the horizon, with the horror genre undergoing a sudden but welcome revival, the average title no longer cuts it. That’s it. It’s an okay game, but it’ll be forgotten as quickly as it comes.
A third-person title about fighting rather than hiding from a psychedelic threat, protagonist Jess decides to take a pear-shaped mental retreat within maybe 15 minutes. The game leaves absolutely no room for suspense to build, and after a ritual gone awry you are immediately plunged into battle with another dimension.
With a somewhat cinematic edge, the game takes you through fairly linear locations, fighting monsters, and solving puzzles. The combat system often feels clunky. Elaborate animations lock onto attacks, and the lack of lock-on makes distance judgments difficult. Some of the powers you get are pretty cool, but you can’t use them much. Their use is governed by meters that never feel full enough.
There’s a neat puzzle or two in between encounters, but again, it doesn’t really go far enough to be impressive. Sometimes I enjoyed 5-6 hour titles. Especially when a cult imitation of his leader Jared Leto appeared onscreen, but sometimes it didn’t.
However, it’s important to realize that this isn’t a AAA game, so some of its visuals are pretty epic. There are some beautiful shots to enjoy as the sun rises, with views of the island and the surrounding sea. A robust 60 frames per second keeps everything running smoothly no matter how intense the action gets.
If only the rest of the game could reach these standards. It’s a frustratingly average title that doesn’t do anything particularly good or insulting or bad.
