The concept of the game is cool and the choose your obstacles aspect actually works really well, see also Loop Hero. It's a shame the combat is so clunky. After almost tearing my hair out when the defending works about 1 out of 5 times and even then, just don't attempt when fighting more than 1 enemies in close proximity. Rolling is much more reliable. The other shame is that some of the better weapon skills don't actually work out as well as they could. There's an 8-way attack but you cannot get hit to use it so in practice you're going to be happy to strike more than 2, 3 enemies with this. TL;DR Nice but plenty of room for improvement.
I'm still just before the proving ritual but all the Ubisoft stealth mechanics are here, hide in tall grass and lure an enemy, etc. Aim assist on gamepad seems a bit random and wildlife reactions are not realistic but they're also not really the focus of the game. I like the story telling done through data found at sites and then occassionaly adding an extra layer when you find out more about the place. I hope this continues throughout the rest of the game
Click on a cat in the "store" and get whisked(?) away out of the game to some random "let me spam you" website BS. Pretty entertaining until that happened. Uninstalling. Very disappointed. Dev replies not appreciated.
I'm consistently getting crashes during the Anchor fight. After some research online I see that hundreds of others have the same issue. That this has never been patched is an utter, utter disgrace. That there doesn't even seem to be a statement on the issue from the developer is an utter disgrace. The story is ok, bit weird which can be fun but outside of a number of special objects on display not much has been done with it and I'm pretty far in the game. I've just spoken to a main character that joined us on the executive level that seems to hint at a twist that I will appreciate, won't spoil it. Although I don't know why I'm giving this game that respect when the developer obviously hasn't. The abilities are cool, they work well but 80% of the upgrades is just "make ability stronger". Gunplay is solid. The unsolved crash together with the fact they told customers to buy the ultimate edition on top of their regular version to be able to play at max graphics settings has me reviewing the refund policy right now.
I think the most important mindset you need when starting this game is that you shouldn't expect a game with a story but a story with a game. And the story is decent, definitely some references to our modern day life and what could happen if we let it. Gameplay-wise it can be a bit rough. I had some Getting Over It moments with the platforming, I couldn't draw my gun when I was about to exit a screen and decided to turn around and fight some more enemies one time. More ambitious movement beyond running and jumping doesn't really animate that well. Difficulty is ramped up artificially later on by zooming in further on the character so you can't see as far ahead anymore. The art-style in the cutscenes being a comic book looks very nice. The characters in-game are at the level of Team Fortress 2, the choice for a very dark theme helps to cover that up. Voice acting sounded a little off to me but I'm not sure if it's amateurs doing a great job or professionals in very limited facilities. Anyway, it's not bad. The story holds up decently although I would've liked some more intrigue, some double-crossing between the antagonists and/or protagonists. There's reference to traitors but we never really see the switch they make or the decisions they have to make to do it. I like how it's presented in chapters and we see different angles. If the developers had had some more resources we could've probably had a sort of Ocean's Eleven type experience here. Play it for the story and you'll have a nice 3 to 4 hours.
So you have to gather materials to repair your ship and for basic survival purposes. You do the things and you win. There's supposed to be some drama in the (mostly) inner monologues the characters are having. One is, I think, at some point hearing voices but it's entirely lost because it's all done in the same speech bubble. And while we're on speech bubbles: occasionally the text will be longer than fits in the bubble. Developers didn't care. I got the same excitement as when I read scenarios in math problems. Let me break down the selling points in the description: - Base micro-management in extremely hostile conditions + Do the things, you win. Occupational therapy. - Randomly assigned crew members with different skills and stories in each gameplay + You can train anyone another skill - Different needs to satisfy: nutrition, physical condition and mental health + Mental health? Didn't notice that at all. Eat and heal, done. - Non-obvious sci-fi plot + Read: pretentious - Ominous presence of the Symmetrical World + No idea - Moral choices – collectivism vs individualism + Also no clue - Unique vector graphics and ambient sound setting + Hah, play Another World. Same graphics, same setting even, awesome game. Hardly any music but that's also lacking here. - High replay-ability and various strategies to beat the game + No - Survival game mode unlocked once the main mission is accomplished + Couldn't be arsed to check it out So you do the things, the heaters and fridge take turns breaking down which is just tedious, nothing else. You get some bla bla at the end when you've collected enough crap and it's over. Don't waste your time. You can have more fun with Another World as I mentioned. Of course, that's an action game, but it requires the same amount of "strategy".
It looks good, the puzzles are adequate but it's just too slow. As you progress the puzzles get some more layers, like a tower you can approach from 4 different sides which is well done. The biggest problem here is the movement. You click where you want to go and the protagonist will find a path there or you'll get an error sound. She will not automatically climb things so you'll have to click there first before you click on the final destination. Most annoying for me was: she'll walk down a staircase, then set another 3-4 steps in the same direction she was going before she'll spin around and slide and walk in the direction she was supposed to go. Artsy-fartsy nonsense. You need to carry the golem around for the first few levels. Then, when it becomes mobile, it's slower than you are! You'll be holding the space bar to fast forward time more than you'll be doing anything else. I quit after the second transformation of the golem. After the first transformation at least it was able to follow you around but now, when it's actually more mobile that's not a thing anymore... Also, the levels get bigger as you progress so you want to zoom out to keep a good overview but as soon as you issue a command to the golem the game will TRY to zoom in on it for dramatic effect. I ended up watching the bottom of the level go by a few times as the camera got lost. This is an example of form over function. The other reviews speak of bugs later on as well. If you've got the patience of a saint, this is a good way to test it but I'm done.
I've played Gris, Aer and Abzu before starting with FAR. FAR fits nicely in with the other titles but only when I finished this one did I really long for more. I was actually sad that it was over. It was a great journey. You'll see short, short and short in the other reviews. I played this just after Aer and this gave me almost double the playtime (finished in about 3 hours) so I'm not complaining! The world is beautiful without being too artsy fartsy (Gris) and the music is just brilliant! I'm a sucker for saxophone so when that joined the score as well I was delighted. The music changes with your actions and it's really well done. There are a few puzzles along the way, nothing requiring a 200 IQ but always fair and logical, not game designer logical if you know what I mean. Without giving too much away, you pilot your vessel with a series of buttons. You can do this as casual as you want or you can jump all over the shop and go for the most efficient experience, up to you. Only near the end will you need to actually get everything a little streamlined but you'll be a pro by then. If you're looking for a casual puzzle experience with a great atmosphere, look no further!
