This was a very good experience. Intriguing, well developed world and an engaging story, however it is more of an interactive story than an actual game (if you are familiar with games like "Vanishing of Ethan Carter" you will understand what I am talking about). I feel that the story could have been more fleshed out and developed opposed to feeling like it jumps around a little bit (certain character's descent into madness could have been developed/explained more). This game isn't for everyone, however if you're interested in sitting down for a quick experience immersive experience that can be completed in less than 4 hours, I would recommend giving this game a try.
Visuals when standing still are fine. Also audio is ok. But when moving the graphics become realy unstable (texture issues, DOV issues, etc) running this thing on a 2080ti is a joke (even when setting it back to high graphics)
The walk speed is irritating slow and certainly missed the mark when the protagonist supposed to be 12 years old. This kid when moving, climbing etc is more like a 80 years old with a hip replacement and dealing with astma.
I agree with other reviews that this is lacking gameplay as it is really a walking simulator, but when the above issues would be fixed it would be at least an enjoyable walking simulator.
The setting of 60's and investigateing clues in a huge bunker would be great but as loop it comes down to doing 1 to 3 things to investigate per room and then goto the next scene. I fear that as a game it is missing actual game content.
In short on my scale a 6/10 walking sim and a missed oppertunity
I'm giving P.L. five stars for achieving exactly what it sets out to do, with no bugs or wonky control issues to tarnish the experience. This is not a game. It is an interactive movie. If you are familiar with the Russian movie "Stalker," this is of that genre, but "played" on the computer from the POV of the protagonist. It is a rail walker, not an open world experience, puzzle adventure, or shooter. There are (basically) no other characters to be found in the gameworld--not even dead bodies. You are simply a young boy, winding his way through an enormous, old, underground Nazi bunker complex, reading notes, listening to audio tapes, and working a few rudimentary gadgets, all to advance the STORY.
Story is king here, just as in movies made B.S. (Before Superheroes). Whether you think you know what's going to happen or not, the enjoyment you get out of the experience will depend upon your willingness to accept P.L. on its own terms, just as with any movie. IMHO, the story is good and fairly moving if you bother to take it in at the pace it deserves and asks of you. I spent lots of time just walking around looking at the scenery, trying to absorb the moment in alternate history P.L. was attempting to portray. (You will doubtless have a leg up here if you can read German and Polish; only game-critical documents are translated.)
The story is divided into five chapters, each corresponding to one of the five stages one supposedly goes through in the grieving process, which should give you a hint as to where this game ends up, after starting out with more of a standard suspense or horror movie vibe. P.L. relies on checkpoint saves (that do not correspond to the chapter divisions, weirdly enough), but the only real drawback to that is that, unless you manually backup a save near the end you will have to replay the whole game in order to see an alternate ending. Anyway, long story short, I thoroughly enjoyed PL as a "movie" and recommend it.
I liked the approach and the story of this game.
Sadly, the story is clear from five min in and where it will lead to, but this comes maybe if you are older and have seen the same approach way too often. It is also similar to other titles and movies, which I wont name. It would be too much of a spoiler.
The people behind the game even did a great job with all the german texts and markings everywhere.
Also the visuals are nice ones, but I have to add, that I like secret bunker stuff : )
The main character could use a bit more emotion in his voice. He sounds like he is mostly reading from a script and nothing more.
And the walking speed is, at least for a replaying session, very slow. Even with the run button, it isnt much of an improvement.
Replayability is pretty low in general.
There arent collectibles or secrets to discover.
You can find notes to read, which will paint a picture of the stuff happening in the bunker but nothing more. Which I think is fine. Not every game needs the "collect 500 bricks!" quest for an achievement : D
A creepy and atmospheric portrayal of a Russian kid entering a huge multi-level Nazi high-tech nuclear bunker somewhere near Kraków Poland, where only the finest and most skilled members of the Aryan were going to create a community that survived an alternative WW2 ending where it seems almost everyone was wiped out. But, it's the mid-60s now, there's nobody around, except another Russian-sounding youngster on the other end of a radio. The goal is to find your father, from an old photo that showed them on sub level 4. Like Fallout in a sense, but without the humor (except for the wise-ass radio chatter) and some very serious and probably controversial themes. It is sometimes visually beautiful, especially the opening sequence, but otherwise pretty darn dull.
I have to say so far it's not much of an actual game. You wander the preplanned route, finding highlighted things to click on that tell you more of the story. It's more of a (slightly) interactive story than a game.
There may be an occasional puzzle (levers to throw, but not sure if you can get it wrong) and the train roundabout has me stumped currently, but it's not what I'd call a puzzle.
It's beautifully rendered, incredible sound and atmosphere, tolerable voice acting if you can accept they are all Russian (so far), but not a lot of actual fun.
More like an alternate history lesson. It was an inexpensive purchase though, so I'll take it for the visual and atmospheric feeling. But after an hour of playtime, or less, you may be wondering why you're wasting your time. The story isn't that engaging, especially in the first hour or two when you'll be asking yourself why you're still playing it.
No keyboard map, no instruction, figure out that it's ASDW to move, Shift very slightly increases zoom, doesn't move any faster so no run, no jump, no crawl or sneak, but that doesn't matter because no combat, no enemies, just walk to the next point on the preplanned route, optionally reading text notes left behind.
