Rankoran
22 Reviews liked by Rankoran
As far as narrative picross games go, this one is okay. The puzzles themselves never got particularly hard which, for a picross sicko like me, is a little disappointing but I understand they probably want normal people to be able to complete the game too. I just wish there was one of these that really challenged me there.
The writing is trying to be charming but it really didn't do anything for me. I didn't think it was bad or annoying or anything, it just didn't hook me. Inoffensive but I had hoped for better.
Sometimes the actual critical path of where you need to go to keep doing puzzles is very unclear and so I ended up doing a lot of wandering around and not knowing what I needed to interact with to make the story continue.
Not the best narrative picross I've played but it's such a small genre that it's hard for me to be too hard on this game.
The writing is trying to be charming but it really didn't do anything for me. I didn't think it was bad or annoying or anything, it just didn't hook me. Inoffensive but I had hoped for better.
Sometimes the actual critical path of where you need to go to keep doing puzzles is very unclear and so I ended up doing a lot of wandering around and not knowing what I needed to interact with to make the story continue.
Not the best narrative picross I've played but it's such a small genre that it's hard for me to be too hard on this game.
For better or worse, Freedom Cry feels like an entire Assassin's Creed game distilled into five hours. That’s good, but it’s an Assassin’s Creed game that doesn’t include many of the steps forward that Black Flag so recently made. I couldn't help but leave disappointed by the bland missions and ironic loss of freedom, which is definitely a bummer. But despite this, Adewale's journey genuinely moved me, as it dealt with themes and situations rarely explored in video games. A story unfettered by Assassin versus Templar mysticism keeps it grounded and powerful.
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This review contains spoilers
The game is actually spectacular, and I enjoyed playing it. It has great music, cute characters and nice graphics. However, the impression is ruined as soon as you look at it critically. This review is not even close to listing all of my dissatisfaction with the writing in the game, but I tried to include at least something. I also suggest googling more critique on the game — there is an EXCELLENT post on Tumblr about it which helped me figure out my own dissatisfaction with the game better. I've listed the positive bits briefly already, others have done it hundreds of times, so I will focus on the negative bits.
- It becomes increasingly difficult to care about anything in Headspace after realising how important the real world is to the story. While it is vibrant, fun and entertaining (and also interesting since it is Sunny's mind we explore), you simply want to get through all of it quicker in order to get to the "real story". It is a bit of a shame.
- The twist with accidental killing is shocking, yet it is the twist on top of it that is so morbid and hard to believe. It feels like it was done for shock value. One could modify that scene in so many ways to make it more palatable.
- It is possible to glimpse what Sunny is like based on shallow past memories, implications in Headspace and other bits. However, he is still pretty much a blank slate with little personality (compared to his friends at least). That is why all the negativity is easy to perceive.
A particular moment in the game forces us to abandon distressed Basil with little explanation. Sunny therefore comes across as a total bastard — not to mention the implications of him ruining the photo album, and Basil constantly taking the blame for him. The fact that he sort of killed his sister in a fit of rage does not help save his image either. Basically, it is really difficult to sympathise with this guy, because he comes across as a killer in hiding who is afraid of coming clean about it all. I doubt this was the intended effect, but it makes this impression, so...
- All that impacts how we view the game events and Sunny's actions, no matter what ending we go for — even the true ending cutscene. Basically, the problems with writing in this game ruin the perception of its message. I absolutely get what it wanted to say, but it did not manage
I give it half a star here just so people pay attention to this review lmao.
- It becomes increasingly difficult to care about anything in Headspace after realising how important the real world is to the story. While it is vibrant, fun and entertaining (and also interesting since it is Sunny's mind we explore), you simply want to get through all of it quicker in order to get to the "real story". It is a bit of a shame.
- The twist with accidental killing is shocking, yet it is the twist on top of it that is so morbid and hard to believe. It feels like it was done for shock value. One could modify that scene in so many ways to make it more palatable.
- It is possible to glimpse what Sunny is like based on shallow past memories, implications in Headspace and other bits. However, he is still pretty much a blank slate with little personality (compared to his friends at least). That is why all the negativity is easy to perceive.
A particular moment in the game forces us to abandon distressed Basil with little explanation. Sunny therefore comes across as a total bastard — not to mention the implications of him ruining the photo album, and Basil constantly taking the blame for him. The fact that he sort of killed his sister in a fit of rage does not help save his image either. Basically, it is really difficult to sympathise with this guy, because he comes across as a killer in hiding who is afraid of coming clean about it all. I doubt this was the intended effect, but it makes this impression, so...
- All that impacts how we view the game events and Sunny's actions, no matter what ending we go for — even the true ending cutscene. Basically, the problems with writing in this game ruin the perception of its message. I absolutely get what it wanted to say, but it did not manage
I give it half a star here just so people pay attention to this review lmao.