PrototypeC
1995
Rayman is an absolutely incredible game, filled with a ton of charm. So if I love it so much, why have I rated it so low? Well...
Let's start with the Good Bits: I love how Rayman and the other limbless characters move and animate. Mama in particular does all of these cool spin attacks which must have been a pain to animate. The soundtrack is INCREDIBLE. Right from the very first stage you're hit with these beautiful tracks that can be anything from jaunty and encouraging (which suits the first stage of a platforming game), to tense and pulse-pounding, to atmospheric and eerie and back. This orchestral soundtrack gives soundtracks like Donkey Kong Country 2 a run for its money. The power-ups are relatively clever and fun to use; figuring out how to use the power-ups in conjunction to access secrets and hidden Electoon cages is satisfying. The levels are visually interesting, and you feel rewarded for getting to the next world to see what gorgeous landscape you get to see next.
But then we get to the Bad Bits, and this is going to take more than a sentence or two to explain. The short and easy answer is: difficulty. The story goes that there was a shortage of QA testers, so nobody working on the game actually had a realistic idea of how difficult the game was. That's the story, anyway, and I believe it. That a game like this dared to have something like limited Continues (5!!) is a testament to poor planning and a total lack of awareness. Rayman starts with only three hit points until death, which can be increased to five by grabbing special power-ups, but death resets this to three. And you will be dying a LOT. Despite the initial controls being almost pixel-perfect in execution of jumps, the game quickly introduces slippery platforms that remain throughout the game. Enemies ultimately get replaced with unkillable environmental hazards. The camera isn't completely broken, but more often than not you'll be expected to simply guess what lies under you and whether or not you'll die attempting a jump, especially in certain sections of Band Land. The Run power is imprecise and hard to stop when you're trying to land on a certain spot and not overshoot, but at times you're required to use it.
If you're thinking of playing this game, I have two pieces of advice: one, look up the infinite lives code for your region. Maybe you feel like you won't need to use it, or it's cheating. All I'll say is, go ahead, but have that code written down nearby just in case. The second piece of advice is to look for a video of the Caves of Skops level "Eat at Joe's", with deaths included. That should give you some idea of how broken this game can be at times.
Let's start with the Good Bits: I love how Rayman and the other limbless characters move and animate. Mama in particular does all of these cool spin attacks which must have been a pain to animate. The soundtrack is INCREDIBLE. Right from the very first stage you're hit with these beautiful tracks that can be anything from jaunty and encouraging (which suits the first stage of a platforming game), to tense and pulse-pounding, to atmospheric and eerie and back. This orchestral soundtrack gives soundtracks like Donkey Kong Country 2 a run for its money. The power-ups are relatively clever and fun to use; figuring out how to use the power-ups in conjunction to access secrets and hidden Electoon cages is satisfying. The levels are visually interesting, and you feel rewarded for getting to the next world to see what gorgeous landscape you get to see next.
But then we get to the Bad Bits, and this is going to take more than a sentence or two to explain. The short and easy answer is: difficulty. The story goes that there was a shortage of QA testers, so nobody working on the game actually had a realistic idea of how difficult the game was. That's the story, anyway, and I believe it. That a game like this dared to have something like limited Continues (5!!) is a testament to poor planning and a total lack of awareness. Rayman starts with only three hit points until death, which can be increased to five by grabbing special power-ups, but death resets this to three. And you will be dying a LOT. Despite the initial controls being almost pixel-perfect in execution of jumps, the game quickly introduces slippery platforms that remain throughout the game. Enemies ultimately get replaced with unkillable environmental hazards. The camera isn't completely broken, but more often than not you'll be expected to simply guess what lies under you and whether or not you'll die attempting a jump, especially in certain sections of Band Land. The Run power is imprecise and hard to stop when you're trying to land on a certain spot and not overshoot, but at times you're required to use it.
If you're thinking of playing this game, I have two pieces of advice: one, look up the infinite lives code for your region. Maybe you feel like you won't need to use it, or it's cheating. All I'll say is, go ahead, but have that code written down nearby just in case. The second piece of advice is to look for a video of the Caves of Skops level "Eat at Joe's", with deaths included. That should give you some idea of how broken this game can be at times.
2010
As good as any David Cage game is going to get. Overdramatic? YES. Silly? Sure. Is the voice acting for the children hilariously bad, because they're clearly new to English? Of course. And are many of the quick-time events tacked-on, unfair or poorly presented? Sadly, yes.
And yet, much like Deadly Premonition, it has a certain charm about it that keeps me from disliking it. The rain effects and puddles look fantastic, some of the VAs are clearly trying to make it work (Scott Shelby especially), and of course there's plenty of unintentional comedy to be had. In those moments where the drama successfully drops, it can really get your heart racing. Most of the time, though, you end up laughing at parts that are clearly intended to be serious, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. As expected of Quantic Dream, the facial animations are incredible and even bit-part background characters have well-modeled faces (as the opening credits brashly shove in your face).
The key word to sum up what's wrong with Heavy Rain is MELODRAMA (and maybe "JAAAASON"). The story tries so hard to be serious that when you're karate-kicking police officers and doing flying jumps off of rooftops as Ethan mid-way through the game it feels like you put in the wrong disc and you're playing Saints Row II. A lot of people have cited problems with the controls, but I found them pretty easy to get used to, albeit clearly funded by Sony to show off their hardware.
As is clear by now, however, I can't help but love this game. I play it through every now and again to see some of the wilder scenes that I missed the first time around, like the aforementioned police escape or what happens when only certain characters survive to reach the end. I think it's worth it. Just don't play Beyond: Two Souls...
And yet, much like Deadly Premonition, it has a certain charm about it that keeps me from disliking it. The rain effects and puddles look fantastic, some of the VAs are clearly trying to make it work (Scott Shelby especially), and of course there's plenty of unintentional comedy to be had. In those moments where the drama successfully drops, it can really get your heart racing. Most of the time, though, you end up laughing at parts that are clearly intended to be serious, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. As expected of Quantic Dream, the facial animations are incredible and even bit-part background characters have well-modeled faces (as the opening credits brashly shove in your face).
The key word to sum up what's wrong with Heavy Rain is MELODRAMA (and maybe "JAAAASON"). The story tries so hard to be serious that when you're karate-kicking police officers and doing flying jumps off of rooftops as Ethan mid-way through the game it feels like you put in the wrong disc and you're playing Saints Row II. A lot of people have cited problems with the controls, but I found them pretty easy to get used to, albeit clearly funded by Sony to show off their hardware.
As is clear by now, however, I can't help but love this game. I play it through every now and again to see some of the wilder scenes that I missed the first time around, like the aforementioned police escape or what happens when only certain characters survive to reach the end. I think it's worth it. Just don't play Beyond: Two Souls...
Definitely no masterpiece, but doesn't deserve most of the ire it gets. Seeing mini-Harry, tiny Draco and other familiar characters from the books in the weird 3D is amusing. The tutorial is... unpleasant to say the least. It's unfun, tedious, and worst of all necessary. Once you get into a match and start working in the various tools at your disposal to win, though, you'll have a good time.
Hogwarts is basically a cakewalk. Things only get interesting after you win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with your chosen House, go to the World Cup and actually get to pick your WORLD team. The various locations you play at around the world can be interesting, and it feels cool to do some trick to get the ball back at the last second.
In essence, though, this is just a basic sports game. Fun while you have it, but nothing to get excited about.
Hogwarts is basically a cakewalk. Things only get interesting after you win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with your chosen House, go to the World Cup and actually get to pick your WORLD team. The various locations you play at around the world can be interesting, and it feels cool to do some trick to get the ball back at the last second.
In essence, though, this is just a basic sports game. Fun while you have it, but nothing to get excited about.
2018
I really wanted to love this game, and in a way I do, but it isn't what I hoped it would be. It's a lot of clever ideas and some strong horror imagery wrapped up in a pretty tantalising package, but once you get deep into the game you realise that it's all flash and no fury.
Let me try to explain better. I don't think any of this counts as a spoiler, but I'll be careful anyway... the game has a strong start and clearly this developer is meant to be working on horror games in some capacity. The audio is suitably chilling, some of the creature designs are off-putting in just the right way (even when one is ripped directly from a Zdislaw Beksinski painting), and the sense of dread that you feel as you descend deeper into this nightmare is straight out of Silent Hill. Certain moments are absolute genius, like a certain unavoidable death, what you thought was a static object turning into an enemy, and a puzzle involving a doll head.
As the game went on and I waited patiently for answers as to what was going on and how this all ties into the protagonist's psyche, it slowly started to dawn on me that... almost none of it does. Then I thought maybe it was about sort of "exorcising" the demons of those who left notes in the different "acts", but that was really only in the act 1 subway area. Most of the disturbing imagery is just there to freak you out rather than "mean" anything. There are two (and a half) endings, but it hardly matters. Both of them are essentially just a text overlay and don't feel satisfying at all. There may as well not be a story in this game at all; just horror themes and imagery. Actually, that's kind of what the extra modes and optional Tape scenarios are. Suitably spooky, but not part of a larger story.
In short, Lost in Vivo is fun, but that's all it is. A few brilliant singular moments do not make this a must-play and left me wanting something more. It's a horror snack; don't expect a meal and you'll probably have fun.
Let me try to explain better. I don't think any of this counts as a spoiler, but I'll be careful anyway... the game has a strong start and clearly this developer is meant to be working on horror games in some capacity. The audio is suitably chilling, some of the creature designs are off-putting in just the right way (even when one is ripped directly from a Zdislaw Beksinski painting), and the sense of dread that you feel as you descend deeper into this nightmare is straight out of Silent Hill. Certain moments are absolute genius, like a certain unavoidable death, what you thought was a static object turning into an enemy, and a puzzle involving a doll head.
As the game went on and I waited patiently for answers as to what was going on and how this all ties into the protagonist's psyche, it slowly started to dawn on me that... almost none of it does. Then I thought maybe it was about sort of "exorcising" the demons of those who left notes in the different "acts", but that was really only in the act 1 subway area. Most of the disturbing imagery is just there to freak you out rather than "mean" anything. There are two (and a half) endings, but it hardly matters. Both of them are essentially just a text overlay and don't feel satisfying at all. There may as well not be a story in this game at all; just horror themes and imagery. Actually, that's kind of what the extra modes and optional Tape scenarios are. Suitably spooky, but not part of a larger story.
In short, Lost in Vivo is fun, but that's all it is. A few brilliant singular moments do not make this a must-play and left me wanting something more. It's a horror snack; don't expect a meal and you'll probably have fun.
2019
From what the credits indicate, this game was only developed by two people. Don't let that incline you to be more merciful than they're due, however... this game is just terrible. As someone who is not averse to "walking simulators", this particular game is probably the worst thing I've ever played.
What confused me at first was that the models seemed well made but strewn around inexpertly. This turned out to be exactly the case: with a quick search of the Unity and Unreal asset stores you can find every model in this game. That wouldn't be so bad if they were used cleverly or if the developers had put a lot of work into a sensible, coherent story well told. But no. If there was thought and intention involved, none of that comes across in the game.
This is just a hodgepodge of "horror-themed" elements crudely thrown together. Not even amusing as an experiment.
What confused me at first was that the models seemed well made but strewn around inexpertly. This turned out to be exactly the case: with a quick search of the Unity and Unreal asset stores you can find every model in this game. That wouldn't be so bad if they were used cleverly or if the developers had put a lot of work into a sensible, coherent story well told. But no. If there was thought and intention involved, none of that comes across in the game.
This is just a hodgepodge of "horror-themed" elements crudely thrown together. Not even amusing as an experiment.