I think 2010 was an interesting transitional era for western game design, as studios that wanted to develop more "cinematic" works still felt compelled to base their design on what worked in the PS2 era, I'm talking about games like Prince of Persia and God of War. Modern cinematic design wouldn't really find its footing until The Last of Us in 2013, and I think if Enslaved came out now, it would 100% be a behind the back style action game like those new God of War games.

This is all preface to say that Enslaved is a very pretty game, but with all of the gameplay simplified to a point of feeling like its there out of expectation, rather than do anything interesting with it. Automated platforming, simple combat, and puzzle rooms are underscored with dynamic camera zooms and Uncharted-esque set-pieces. It feels stuck in-between two eras, which is appropriate considering it came out right in the middle of the 7th gen.

I think it's an interesting experience, but it feels "Enslaved" to what was conventional at the time. A shame really, I think if it came out a few years into the 8th gen, with the aforementioned behind the back style, it might've done better.

Nome: ENSLAVED Odyssey to the West Premium Edition
Plataforma: Steam - PC
Data: 11 Abril 2024
Horas Aproximadas: 50 Horas
Dificuldade: ☐ Muito Fácil | ☐ Fácil | ☑ Normal | ☐ Difícil | ☐ Muito Difícil

Enslaved is a game that wears many influences on it's sleeve, even on games that have not yet come out when this was released. One of the best features of the game were the story which forces you to save a girl whom cannot survive alone in the harsh post-apocalyptic world and escort her home in which you build a bond over time - not too far of 'The Last of Us'. Not the most complex story, but I enjoyed the execution.
The graphics of the game is quite stunning on the console where it displays colours and vistas rarely seen at the time. However, to deliver such a pretty game it came at the cost of screen tearing, stutters and big frame drops which is quite distracting (you are lucky to get 30fps).
I enjoyed the enemies and using different tactics for each enemy type. My biggest gripe has to be that the game platforming and combat seems.. clunky and limited. For instance, you cannot jump off one ledge due to not being the way but the same looking ledge can be jumped off.
The game holds your hand too much with glowing platforms as well as telling you what to do next without giving you a chance to think it though.
The main story took about 10 hours to beat. But outside the colourful graphics, there is nothing unique or outstanding to replay this game.

Another very cheap last-gen game that's really great. The game mechanics are somewhere between Infamous' climbing and SplatterHouse's brawling, but it makes for a great combo. The story is also a very cool take on the post-apocalyptic genre, with the world being immensely colorful and full of plantlife, although not really human life. That said, though the separate characters in this game can be named on one hand, they really tell a cool and interesting story with just the couple of them.

Verdict: Very highly recommended.

feel like this could have been so great. i very much enjoyed the story and what it was trying to portray. the actors (andy serkis) were good but the chemistry between monkey and trip could have been so much better. there was a lot of development missing, i feel like the graphics and environment (which do not hold up that well) were huge for its time and i can appreciate the scope in which ninja theory was trying to achieve. i am also a sucker for post-apocalyptic cities. yeah a good time but could've been so much better.