Overall most helpful review

Posted on: April 20, 2023

SargonAelther

Games: 5755 Reviews: 12

This game deserves far more attention!

The game was designed for a fixed camera view, but the latest update added a 3rd person mode. You can choose the camera mode at the start of the game, but you cannot change it afterwards. I actually really like this addition. Fixed camera angles may have made sense in the past with 2D environments, but now that everything is 3D, it's just so much nicer to enjoy the beautiful scenery with free camera control of 3rd person mode. I actually really wish that Syberia 3 and 4 had this option. There is another reason why I brought up Syberia though. While the screenshots may give the impression that this is a survival horror game, it really isn't. It plays more like a traditional adventure game with some basic combat. While the situation that the protagonist Elise finds herself in is terrifying, there are absolutely no traditional scares for the player. There is hardly any inventory management either. There are two bullet types: low quality and high quality. HQ bullets deal more damage, while the LQ bullets are infinite. HQ bullets can be crafter by storing junk items overnight at the chest in your house. While it is possible to run out of inventory space, you will rarely ever have to drop something to make room. Enemies can spawn randomly in certain predesignated areas. Unlike most survival horror games, they cannot be avoided, as a barrier gets created, trapping Elise and her enemies in an arena of sorts. The only way to escape this arena is to defeat all the enemies. The combat is simple, although the dodge mechanic feels a bit janky and unpredictable. The game has several time and weather manipulation mechanics. These are used to solve puzzles. Most of the puzzles are simple, which is a good thing in my opinion. Voice acting is good, the puns are great, the story is interesting, although the ending leaves us more questions than answers. The story absolutely needs a sequel or an expansion pack at the very least. I would recommend this game to any adventure game fan.

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Posted on: April 30, 2023

DavidMcNamara

Verified owner

Games: 183 Reviews: 2

Hidden gem

Definitely a hidden gem with Syberia and Dreamfall vibes, made by a small and dedicated team of developers. Pro + Great atmosphere and beautiful graphics + Interesting story + Nice soundtrack + Excellent voice acting + Short, but not too short (4 to 5 hours), maybe even longer with optional sidequests + Combat is quite easy Contra - Sometimes the gameplay mechanics are not properly introduced - Some backtracking - It takes some time at the beginning for the story to get going I would love to see a sequel or another project by Elseware Experience! A clear recommendation for players who like mysteries or adventure games with puzzle elements.

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Posted on: December 17, 2023

Pomme_de_Pain

Verified owner

Games: 322 Reviews: 107

An hidden gem

This is a hard game to review. It's one of those game with obvious weaknesses and the same time you can't help but falling in love with it. I played in the FPS view, added later because the game was first meant to be played in TPS view like a resident evil (first one) or a syberia game. The FPS view works except for the gun fight. Indeed you can either aim or move, therefore you can not see enemies walking toward you from behind, like you would in TPS view. In fact the FPS view isn't available for bosses mainly because it would have mean to re-design fights entirely. Beside that, wow. I am totally blown away by the voice acting (french one), one of the best and most touching i've ever heard. This is clearly the strong point of this game. You care about Elise, you feel her sadness, joy and her misunderstanding of the situation. The other strong point is the story, full of mystery and intriguing when you start to apprehend what's going on. In terms of mechanics, this a metroid vania in 3D but you can only explore during the day. You want to be home before the dark because it's getting quite dangerous. Therefore you have to plan your pathing in advance. There is also a weather mechanic wich blocks/unlocks path. The riddles aren't complicated which is a good thing. Anyway, a buggy game sometimes but with a real soul, a unique story and a touching main protagonist. A must play.

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Posted on: March 15, 2025

ZestyOfXeniphers

Verified owner

Games: 141 Reviews: 70

Loved it !

I loved the game. The graphics are excellent, the story decent, the atmosphere memorable, the puzzles/quests not too difficult to solve, and the length with all the side quests is about 15+ hours ! So when the game is on sale it should not be missed. What I also liked is the possibility to choose fewer combats and mainly focus on and enjoy the game's story, investigation, puzzles and quests in which case some sporadic combats did not become bothersome or boring as they usually became to me if too many). The only thing that I did not like as much is the ending which somehow came as a mild disappointment (I expected a more positive one). However, such an open unresolving ending opened the possibility for a sequel which I would look forward to if it ever comes about. All in all I highly recommend this game, especially when on sale.

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Posted on: February 19, 2025

Xirin

Verified owner

Games: 55 Reviews: 3

Worth a look if it's on sale.

It feels like a "piece" of a bigger game. As others have said, real "Dreamfall" vibes, but with less story depth. In Broken Pieces, you're kinda dropped into the middle of a story you never quite get the full picture of, and the ending feels rather sudden. What this really feels like, to me, is a tech demo where the developers tried out various mechanics, storyline ideas, game play methodologies, but then released it as-is rather than continued developing the plot and maps and turned it into something more complete. It's certainly worth a play if you like exploration games with some mild puzzle mechanics thrown in. None of them are too hard, but they still force you to think. The combat is more of an annoyance than a challenge (every time I ran into enemies my reaction was "ugh, not this again."). I'd recommend picking it up when it's on sale. Hopefully, the next game from this studio will be larger in scope.

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