NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS (.exe)
GAMEPLAY:
It’s tough to explain aspects of the game without spoiling the story which is the most important aspect of the game, therefore I will keep the review simple: The Fall is an adventure game with high elements of exploration and puzzles.
With a similar feel to Metroid, you’re in a suit that urgently helps the human that’s inside while you’re on a place it doesn’t know, therefore you need to explore to find a way before it’s too late. With the help of the suit’s flashlight, you will be required to find hints (or objects) in order to progress through the game. A majority of the times the hints you get (when finding them or due to the game’s story) are either really small or confusing, making it challenging.
It doesn’t end there. The game has enemies as well therefore a little shooter aspect is present. The weapon isn’t the only element of the game as you will need to cover yourself or hide from attacks where the A.I. of the enemy is excellent (and the more you progress, the harder it is to beat the game).
You will have two different bars: shield and health. Both bars will recover with time, however, the health one will require more time. Losing the shield will make you lose health and once all of your health gets depleted, it’s game over.
The controls are pretty good where the most important one is the L-stick for moving. Something else that’s worth mentioning is the existence of an auto-save feature that will activate often, so don’t be worried about losing your progress.
In general, the playable aspects of the game are excellent, some of the puzzles are really clever and the story is great (mostly at the end). Still, it’s short. I only needed around three hours to finish the game, however, the average may be around five hours.
Sadly, I experienced a few freezing glitches in the last part of the game that made the console stick with an ear-rapping sound coming from the Gamepad. It appears this only occurs when using the external memory, therefore I recommend playing the game using the console’s memory.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND:
The game looks great on the Wii U, making an excellent port. The use of certain effects for the story are well made and it runs really smoothly.
The Fall tries to use a realistic style with dark environments and the details can still be appreciated.
The game does not feature music at all, however, you will find atmospheric backgrounds that were well made and good voice acting.
PRESENTATION:
The presentation is quite simple but well done, featuring three save slots and five different languages from the PC version. In addition, the Off-TV mode works great as well.
Meanwhile some options are lacking, the only one I will mention is the manual: there is no manual at all.
CONCLUSION:
The Fall is a pretty good game, however, it is short and some of the puzzles are really difficult. The story is great and I’m looking forward to a sequel soon which should be a good purchase for those who have patience and enjoy these types of experiences. If your brain does not like to be put to work, you should skip this game.
The developer confirmed that an update will be ‘in the works’ if players experience problems, which aims at fixing some bugs and glitches. Still, I recommend playing the game on the Wii U memory until the update is available.
