Summary
So, first this is a game that charmed me into coming in, but sadly kept me from enjoying it as much as I feel i should have. This doesn’t make it a bad game, but also… it leaves me wanting.
So lets break this down to 3 segments. Because this is not a bad game, in fact, its a really good game – but its also missing segments that lift it to something I can enjoy longer than an hour or two without becoming bored.
Technically this is a competent title, with no bugs in sight, and a solid set of options and settings. It doesn’t take an extra mile with things like color blind mode, but neither does it shrink away from allowing you to customize your visual / audio experience. But the problem that rises is the camera implementation where I’ve got some problems where it clips through walls making it hard to see and objectives that don’t. Its not the biggest issue for sure, but when you’ve got tension broiling… a camera that annoys is not the least annoying part.
functionally there are two parts: Talking and Shooting. And while both have their strength, they both suffer from issues that bleed into one another.
With the speech system large parts of the game can be played in passivist mode with dialogue, the ability to turn back time removes any challenge from this segment due to the trial and error nature it allows, instead of a well reasoned approach to interaction.
BUT – this very time turning and shifting mechanic, allows for such a diverse combat interaction that makes it shine above and beyond.
Sadly, the combat system, with all its options and available tactics is shackled by its beyond easy difficulty that results in a lack of any requirements to think beyond a few basic steps. With no harder difficulty available, it remains a simple step forward to keep them beyond the need to consider.
Conclusion
I hope early access continues to add more depth – but for now, its just missing that last step into amazing.