This has been on my wishlist for a while without fully aware of what to expect. At first I expected to mostly play in the starting island with beautiful weather all the time. Kind of like a vacation experience. But the setting changed with every chapter (5 total). I was also initially unimpressed with the gameplay being mostly exploring, solving simple puzzles, climbing a la Tomb Raider/Uncharted and trying to understand the story without voice acting or a single text. It slowly won me over to the point of getting hooked and crying with the ending after completing the game a second time.
Positives:
-Gorgeous graphics and moving soundtrack
-Relaxing gameplay where time moves quickly without noticing
-Some of the puzzles are well thought out later in the game. What’s more, it strikes a fine balance of keeping interest while not being complicated for the most part
-Almost all the collectibles are meaningful additions to the story, they’re there for a reason
-Achievements (and collectibles) that enhance the joy of exploration (more on that later)
-Figuring out the story and how it’s an impressive accomplishment to be told so well despite the lack of words
-How every element comes together to create a game where the developers know what they want and they succeeded with their goals
Flaws:
-Animations can be odd sometimes when climbing or jumping down
-The graphics can have some minor visual bugs when you’re swimming underwater
-Very few collectibles/achievements are 100% impossible to figure out without a guide or pure luck
-The quality of the soundtrack is not very high. You don’t hear the music with full clarity, like there’s a minor muffle. But it might be just my headset
-The chapters are long, you can’t start from a different point in chapter select for specific collectibles/achievements
-The game needs time to grow on you and show you all it has to offer. You also need to go out of your way to put the pieces together. At a first glance you might think the game is boring and don’t understand the appeal because of this
The achievements are the star of the show. Aside from the story progression/collectibles, there are unique achievements that beg you to explore. Each achievement has unique icon and description. Those are especially effective after completing the game once. Because you will then vaguely remember what is being referenced and then you go there to confirm. It’s such a pleasant feeling when you get things right. The best way to play this game is at least a complete first run without looking things up. Just enjoy the game, try to find the secrets on your own and then look things up with chapter select. I did my first run completely blind, second run I mostly tried doing things on my own with some pointers/hints to send me in the right direction and then it was chapter select getting everything missed with a guide. The last step is not as bad as it sounds as the game saves the moment you find something. So you don’t have to complete a chapter or reach a checkpoint.
Even though I haven’t played games like Abzu and Journey yet, I think Rime is often compared with those games. I know that those games are more well known and popular. I’m guessing that Rime is not as good as those best games in the genre but it should definitely be played if you’re a fan of those type of games. Don’t play it if you’re planning on running quickly through it without giving the game the attention it deserves in terms of observation and thinking what you’re witnessing means.
Positives:
-Gorgeous graphics and moving soundtrack
-Relaxing gameplay where time moves quickly without noticing
-Some of the puzzles are well thought out later in the game. What’s more, it strikes a fine balance of keeping interest while not being complicated for the most part
-Almost all the collectibles are meaningful additions to the story, they’re there for a reason
-Achievements (and collectibles) that enhance the joy of exploration (more on that later)
-Figuring out the story and how it’s an impressive accomplishment to be told so well despite the lack of words
-How every element comes together to create a game where the developers know what they want and they succeeded with their goals
Flaws:
-Animations can be odd sometimes when climbing or jumping down
-The graphics can have some minor visual bugs when you’re swimming underwater
-Very few collectibles/achievements are 100% impossible to figure out without a guide or pure luck
-The quality of the soundtrack is not very high. You don’t hear the music with full clarity, like there’s a minor muffle. But it might be just my headset
-The chapters are long, you can’t start from a different point in chapter select for specific collectibles/achievements
-The game needs time to grow on you and show you all it has to offer. You also need to go out of your way to put the pieces together. At a first glance you might think the game is boring and don’t understand the appeal because of this
The achievements are the star of the show. Aside from the story progression/collectibles, there are unique achievements that beg you to explore. Each achievement has unique icon and description. Those are especially effective after completing the game once. Because you will then vaguely remember what is being referenced and then you go there to confirm. It’s such a pleasant feeling when you get things right. The best way to play this game is at least a complete first run without looking things up. Just enjoy the game, try to find the secrets on your own and then look things up with chapter select. I did my first run completely blind, second run I mostly tried doing things on my own with some pointers/hints to send me in the right direction and then it was chapter select getting everything missed with a guide. The last step is not as bad as it sounds as the game saves the moment you find something. So you don’t have to complete a chapter or reach a checkpoint.
Even though I haven’t played games like Abzu and Journey yet, I think Rime is often compared with those games. I know that those games are more well known and popular. I’m guessing that Rime is not as good as those best games in the genre but it should definitely be played if you’re a fan of those type of games. Don’t play it if you’re planning on running quickly through it without giving the game the attention it deserves in terms of observation and thinking what you’re witnessing means.