Posted on: April 4, 2022
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Games: 52 Reviews: 2
Bright, Brilliant, Imperfect.
I won't try to explain what EYE 'is', many more talented people than me have wasted many more words than I can spare here on that. Instead, I'll be focussing on something that I think isn't quite discussed enough: the experience of EYE. In short: tactical shooting, dream logic and atmosphere. The first cycle mostly consists of slowly crawling through enormous open delapitated spaces constantly scanning the architecture ahead knowing that noticing a sniper ever only a few seconds too late will cost you your life (death has permanent consequences, though minor). This is punctuated with small intense skirmishes, rarely winnable in a straight-up fight, either peeking corners, or using a collection of unlocked special powers. A lot of running away, reloading, healing, praying that you're back up in fighting shape before the enemy finds you, meanwhile the cracks in the framing narative are starting to show. During the first cycle it mostly adds to the atmosphere, as you truly don't know what even can be around any given corner. On the second cycle however you will have started out-leveling the difficulty curve, at the very least you will already know most sniper positions. So as the levels shrink considerably, and combat becomes a breeze, you suddenly have the time and energy left over to engage with the weirder elements of the world. You start talking to people. You start discussing philosophy with people. You start noticing the imagery in the level design. You start to piece together why there is a giant statue of your dead wife in a cathedral halfway through renovation which is being advertised as a strip club. Or, of course, why there isn't. I too should touch upon the jank. Yes. there's jank. The jank runs deep. I never had technical problems of any kind, but the game wasn't build to make sense to absolutely everyone. Some parts just only make sense to the guys who build it (looking at you wave-defense section halfway through claustrophobic exploration).
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