The game follows the protagonist Gillian Seed who has been assigned to the JUNKER(Japanese Undercover Neuro-Kinetic Elimination Ranger) which is an organization established to deal with the onset of Snatchers in Neo Kobe City. Snatchers are robotic killing machines who take on the identity of their victims. This game is heavily inspired by the movies "Blade Runner" and "Terminator".
Hideo Kojima is best known for his Metal Gear series. But before its stealth gameplay and plot complexity, there was Snatcher. Kojima's love of films is apparent from the beginning of this game. Protagonist Seed hunts down the Snatchers, Replicant-esque Terminators in Neo Kobe City, which might as well be Los Angeles in terms of architecture. He is accompanied by a sensible robot companion named Metal Gear as he investigates murders and uncovers a gigantic conspiracy.
Gillian and his wife Jamie both suffer from amnesia and they can't remember anything about their past before 3 years ago when they were found. Because they don't know anything about their past, both of them have a hard time being together again.
Snatcher has an in-game wiki in the form of computer Jordan which is really well-crafted and interesting. I became invested in the game more after reading through the wiki after I started the game.
In terms of gameplay, Snatcher is a console equivalent of a point and click adventure. From your first-person perspective, you can move to different areas, talk, look, or investigate things most of the time. This user interface is rough due largely to the fact that you may need to perform some strange combination of your options in order to proceed, but Snatcher tends to inform one's goals well. What really makes Snatcher stand out is in the details. Each area has richly nuanced pixel art and multiple points of interest that can be examined through the menus instead of cursor pixel-hunting.
Dialogue in this game is amazingly delivered despite the limitations of the hardwares at the time. The visual movement in the times of voice acting in important moments, I thought, are brilliantly done and feels very immersive.
The lore of the game is really interesting. The plot has depth and very well foreshadowed twists. The characters are all mostly really likable and the game is very emotional at times too. I won't say the writing is perfect here but it's definitely fantastic enough to leave an impact on the players mind.
Overall, I tremendously enjoyed playing through this game while at times being frustrated at the gameplay but not enough to diminish my positive experience of the game. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi and noir films or is a fan of Kojima.
Personal Rating - 9/10
Hideo Kojima is best known for his Metal Gear series. But before its stealth gameplay and plot complexity, there was Snatcher. Kojima's love of films is apparent from the beginning of this game. Protagonist Seed hunts down the Snatchers, Replicant-esque Terminators in Neo Kobe City, which might as well be Los Angeles in terms of architecture. He is accompanied by a sensible robot companion named Metal Gear as he investigates murders and uncovers a gigantic conspiracy.
Gillian and his wife Jamie both suffer from amnesia and they can't remember anything about their past before 3 years ago when they were found. Because they don't know anything about their past, both of them have a hard time being together again.
Snatcher has an in-game wiki in the form of computer Jordan which is really well-crafted and interesting. I became invested in the game more after reading through the wiki after I started the game.
In terms of gameplay, Snatcher is a console equivalent of a point and click adventure. From your first-person perspective, you can move to different areas, talk, look, or investigate things most of the time. This user interface is rough due largely to the fact that you may need to perform some strange combination of your options in order to proceed, but Snatcher tends to inform one's goals well. What really makes Snatcher stand out is in the details. Each area has richly nuanced pixel art and multiple points of interest that can be examined through the menus instead of cursor pixel-hunting.
Dialogue in this game is amazingly delivered despite the limitations of the hardwares at the time. The visual movement in the times of voice acting in important moments, I thought, are brilliantly done and feels very immersive.
The lore of the game is really interesting. The plot has depth and very well foreshadowed twists. The characters are all mostly really likable and the game is very emotional at times too. I won't say the writing is perfect here but it's definitely fantastic enough to leave an impact on the players mind.
Overall, I tremendously enjoyed playing through this game while at times being frustrated at the gameplay but not enough to diminish my positive experience of the game. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi and noir films or is a fan of Kojima.
Personal Rating - 9/10