boopus
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I don't know if this is a case of me overhyping myself, having wanted to play the originals for 2 years, or again failing to understand that I'm not the target audience, but I can't help but call Another Code stylistic blue balls that falls short in every aspect I conceivably want to give it credit for.
I don't want to spill too much caustic ink towards a remake that's a miracle for even existing. However, I believe the two biggest failings here are that it's narratively non-commital and atmospherically lackluster, leading to an experience that is worsened by being a game.
I'll explain a bit. The games seems to aim for a mystery narrative. However, the plots are unbelievably predictable and continually fail to establish any suspense. Okay, so is it a Ghibli narrative? No, because it's too expository and does almost nothing symbolically. It's philosophy is immature, it's emotional peaks don't land because of the predictability and it's fictionalizations are either overdone or underdeveloped. What we're left with is a B-grade children's anime inflated by the slowness of an adventure game.
Visually, you can see the creative potential in the cover art, hand drawn shots and Disco-Elysium-esque menu portraits for each character. It's because of this that the 3D environments feel cheap in their mysticism. It looks like a Level-5 game or Bandai-Namco licensed anime title when it felt like it had the potential to be a more realized Boku no Natsuyasumi, and it hurts. Beyond this, the few chill out sections feel too scripted to be called cozy game material. The first game feels like Resident Evil 1 for kids, but with no thought, tension or atmosphere. The second game is Night in the Woods without the quirkiness. I ultimately feel like I watched 2 overly-long direct-to-video Barbie movies. There's puzzle game aspects, but the puzzles are braindead. While I'll praise it's music, it's never utilized as anything other than background. There's no side objectives or hangoutability (trust me, I tried so hard to stand still and soak in, but it's so glaringly half-baked in an uncharming way). Sadly again, all that's left is walking between markers and listening to dialogue you saw coming 2 hours ago.
The conclusion here is disappointment, perhaps as a result of my own expectations, but either way the AAA revitalization of hidden gem franchises isn't going to stem from interest in this project.
I don't want to spill too much caustic ink towards a remake that's a miracle for even existing. However, I believe the two biggest failings here are that it's narratively non-commital and atmospherically lackluster, leading to an experience that is worsened by being a game.
I'll explain a bit. The games seems to aim for a mystery narrative. However, the plots are unbelievably predictable and continually fail to establish any suspense. Okay, so is it a Ghibli narrative? No, because it's too expository and does almost nothing symbolically. It's philosophy is immature, it's emotional peaks don't land because of the predictability and it's fictionalizations are either overdone or underdeveloped. What we're left with is a B-grade children's anime inflated by the slowness of an adventure game.
Visually, you can see the creative potential in the cover art, hand drawn shots and Disco-Elysium-esque menu portraits for each character. It's because of this that the 3D environments feel cheap in their mysticism. It looks like a Level-5 game or Bandai-Namco licensed anime title when it felt like it had the potential to be a more realized Boku no Natsuyasumi, and it hurts. Beyond this, the few chill out sections feel too scripted to be called cozy game material. The first game feels like Resident Evil 1 for kids, but with no thought, tension or atmosphere. The second game is Night in the Woods without the quirkiness. I ultimately feel like I watched 2 overly-long direct-to-video Barbie movies. There's puzzle game aspects, but the puzzles are braindead. While I'll praise it's music, it's never utilized as anything other than background. There's no side objectives or hangoutability (trust me, I tried so hard to stand still and soak in, but it's so glaringly half-baked in an uncharming way). Sadly again, all that's left is walking between markers and listening to dialogue you saw coming 2 hours ago.
The conclusion here is disappointment, perhaps as a result of my own expectations, but either way the AAA revitalization of hidden gem franchises isn't going to stem from interest in this project.