From what I've seen in the 1.5 hours I spent in the game, I could have liked it. The interiors of the space station are detailed and realistic. The premise is unique and intriguing. However. It keeps crashing at startup. It will crash 100% unless you "Run as Admin"; but even then it crashes with some probability, or just hangs with a white screen, or hangs while the "loading" indicator is spinning. Once you're past the loading, it runs without problem. But with each launch the probability of crashes seems to go up. So now I'm at a point when I can no longer force myself to fight with the thing. I've spent 2.5 hours today (longer than I spent in the game, total!) trying to make it run, and it keeps crashing. So I'm giving up. I have better uses for my time. No idea if it's idiosyncratic to my system config. However checking online shows that I'm not alone, and there are no answers. So before buying this title, consider your LUCK stats against the possibility of money wasted and frustration instead of enjoyment.
This game is not too ambitious; it does not ask you to pour into it a year of your lifetime, like the Witcher series for example. But it tells a complete story, and manages to create quite a solid experience while doing it. The gameplay is enjoyable, so I expect to return to this game in the future. The devs got the story/gameplay balance right in the way that allows one to enjoy replays despite having finished the story. The exploration-and-hunting periods are interspersed with the scripted action scenes, where you have to keep up with your Resistance brothers-in-arms, which creates nice variety in the pacing. One design choice I found jarring was the limitedness of the enemies AI. They are the machines, their main strength has to be in that they are networked! Let one notice you, and everything in the vicinity should start crawling toward you. Instead, you only get noticed by those that can observe you or your action with their own sensors. Another blemish was with the story integration: story-wise, you only get the most powerful weapon class for the last mission. But game-wise, it becomes usable much earlier, so for the role-playing reasons I had to lug the damn gun in my backpack for like 1/4 of the game without firing a shot with it. But that's just a silly old me and my quirks, you don't have to do that :) . I am not really a fan of the Terminator universe; watched the two original movies what... about 30 years ago now! and that's it. So I didn't come into this game with any special expectations. However I liked the whole experience and the ambience of the game, so I re-watched the movies and was suprised by how close the game reproduces the environment of the war shown in the movies: the machines, even the little details like the look of the sniper rifle scope screen and a fire burning inside a gutted TV in a refugee camp. I'm sure Terminator fans will like that.
This is a very solid and lovingly made experience. The story feels like one of the early cyberpunk fiction works (the initiated might find a direct reference to one of the classics in a signboard and read it as an early warning of what they are getting into). The stylized polygonated graphics is unusual, and I think it works well for this game. The acoustic atmosphere is beautiful, and the voice acting [English] is perfect. The characters are well developed and feel like live people, with their own desires and imperfections. This game is listed in Adventure and Action genres, but in fact it is closer to an interactive story. There is not much freedom of choice, the freedom that exists is mostly aesthetic. The puzzles and minigames are not difficult -- they are intended not as a challenge, but as an immersion device. On the writing side, I found two things somewhat wanting (or insufficiently motivated in-game), for 2010's, namely the copy vs move in mind uploading and the question of what is real and what isn't. However this is probably a consequence of choosing early cyberpunk as a genre model, so I can live with that. For an example of a deeper exploration of these issues, check out Soma. State of Mind, still, is a solid work in its own right. Bottom line: State of Mind may disappoint those who expect challenge as a main ingredient in their games. However for those looking for a good story, lifelike characters, and overall experience, this title will be well worth the time and the money.
First, the good. The craftsmanship of this game is on par with other Wadjet Eye products. It's solid. No bugs. The graphics are artful. The voice acting is very good. I'd give this game five stars if I was rating it on the art & technical points alone (well, maybe 4.9 stars: some animations felt a bit rushed). However, I was quite disappointed by the story of this game, and the way it was told. The story feels artificial and shallow. Many characters are unconvincing. Sometimes the cartoonishness of the plot twists and the belaboring of obvious reveals create an impression that the game was intended for elementary school children. Some things the POV character does, and her reaction to them (or lack thereof), break the consistency of the character. The gameplay part doesn't shine, too. The puzzles are mostly "linear" and obvious. There are a couple of choices near the end, which feel as if they were bolted on just Because Modern Games must be About Big Moral Choices. If asked for a buying advice, I'd say buy it on a discount if you want to complete a Wadjet Eye games collection. If you have to choose, pick any other Wadjet Eye title instead. If you're looking for a good sci-fi story, you won't find one here. Please note that I play games mostly for their stories, whatever the game mechanic or genre. If your priorities are different, you may get more from this game than I did.
