This is simultaneously one of the most fun and most stupid games that can possibly exist. It has so many things wrong with it that, in practicality, it's like a train flying off a broken bridge. And yet I must see every moment of it happening.
This game is wildly diverse. People like to tease Quantic Dream games for their illusion of choice. But it's much harder to argue here. The diversity of endings is pretty great. And the amount of smaller decisions that change every playthrough are almost countless. Playing this completely blind and rolling through the punches with whatever happens is an absolute treat, just because you know your experience will be different than so, so many other players.
The story is also quite gripping. It's hard to make a "dramatic thriller" in the medium of video games. It's even harder to make it with so many branching pathways. But they nail it. The acting is convincing, the threats the characters face are real and believable, and the larger plot is gripping, and has that very "edge-of-your-seat" vibe to it. Getting something like this, especially at a AAA quality is a rare treat, and it's why Quantic Dream stands apart with the uniqueness of their games.
That's a lot of praise, but I'm sure you saw above that this masterpiece is somehow not a 10/10. And that's for good reasons.
This story, as gripping, exciting, and fun as it is, it's also just... really frickin' dumb. Firstly, the story is kind of silly, mostly because all the antagonists are comically evil. These people make Disney villains cringe. The alcoholic father? Completely irredeemable. The rowdy police chief? Completely disregarding of any criticism. The US military and government? Completely without remorse. It's kind of hilarious how evil people are, and can turn this whole story into a comedy at times.
The game also struggles with "David Cage" moments. You've seen them before. It's very much an "All Substance, Details Later" methodology of narrative design. Really heavy on the emotion, with basically no logic behind the actions. "Okay, so we need a bad dad. Let's make him alcoholic. And abusive. Also he does drugs. And not only does he abuse his kid, but also his android."
Oh come on, it's just the set-up, you might say. Okay, try to make the following actions make any sense. "So the android and the young girl ran away to an abandoned house, which is obviously a bad place to be, where they meet an obviously psycho dude. Turns out, the guy is obviously psycho, so then, to make sure they're safe, they go to the creepy mansion occupied by the obviously insane guy on the outskirts of town." Again, it's almost comedic how stupid the situations are. Do the scenes turn out fun and exciting? Sure, but it's very much a "turn your brain off" type of entertainment, even though Cage and his narrative team clearly think they're being edgy and original. It can't be a David Cage game without multiples scenes of women being half-naked!
Again, this is a fundamentally good game, without approximately a billion flaws. It's definitely worth trudging through all its problems just to have your own unique experience. Whether it's good artistically, that can be debated later.
This game is wildly diverse. People like to tease Quantic Dream games for their illusion of choice. But it's much harder to argue here. The diversity of endings is pretty great. And the amount of smaller decisions that change every playthrough are almost countless. Playing this completely blind and rolling through the punches with whatever happens is an absolute treat, just because you know your experience will be different than so, so many other players.
The story is also quite gripping. It's hard to make a "dramatic thriller" in the medium of video games. It's even harder to make it with so many branching pathways. But they nail it. The acting is convincing, the threats the characters face are real and believable, and the larger plot is gripping, and has that very "edge-of-your-seat" vibe to it. Getting something like this, especially at a AAA quality is a rare treat, and it's why Quantic Dream stands apart with the uniqueness of their games.
That's a lot of praise, but I'm sure you saw above that this masterpiece is somehow not a 10/10. And that's for good reasons.
This story, as gripping, exciting, and fun as it is, it's also just... really frickin' dumb. Firstly, the story is kind of silly, mostly because all the antagonists are comically evil. These people make Disney villains cringe. The alcoholic father? Completely irredeemable. The rowdy police chief? Completely disregarding of any criticism. The US military and government? Completely without remorse. It's kind of hilarious how evil people are, and can turn this whole story into a comedy at times.
The game also struggles with "David Cage" moments. You've seen them before. It's very much an "All Substance, Details Later" methodology of narrative design. Really heavy on the emotion, with basically no logic behind the actions. "Okay, so we need a bad dad. Let's make him alcoholic. And abusive. Also he does drugs. And not only does he abuse his kid, but also his android."
Oh come on, it's just the set-up, you might say. Okay, try to make the following actions make any sense. "So the android and the young girl ran away to an abandoned house, which is obviously a bad place to be, where they meet an obviously psycho dude. Turns out, the guy is obviously psycho, so then, to make sure they're safe, they go to the creepy mansion occupied by the obviously insane guy on the outskirts of town." Again, it's almost comedic how stupid the situations are. Do the scenes turn out fun and exciting? Sure, but it's very much a "turn your brain off" type of entertainment, even though Cage and his narrative team clearly think they're being edgy and original. It can't be a David Cage game without multiples scenes of women being half-naked!
Again, this is a fundamentally good game, without approximately a billion flaws. It's definitely worth trudging through all its problems just to have your own unique experience. Whether it's good artistically, that can be debated later.