You know, I loved him. I never expected for him to be taken the way he was, so early on in his life. Him and Harry were just amazing to me. I loved them both. I loved Harry. But Will was something else. But seeing Harry and Will together, made me so happy inside for the two of them. Life was a dream. But the things you dream always turn sour in some sort of form, and the day Will was taken from us, is a day that I`ll never forget.
Fragments of Him is a game developed by Sassybot that will take you on an emotional, psychological rollercoaster over 2 and half hours, as you are told the story of Uni student Will, through the eyes of 3 people, Harry (his love interest), Sarah (his best friend and other love interest) and his Grandma, and the story of him growing up from a young boy into a young adult. Will, Harry and Sarah are at University, all going well and life is a dream for them. Until one day, Will went out for a drive, leaving Harry, his boyfriend, back at their apartment asleep. He never returned. The story tells through the eyes of 4 people, and a story of love, and tragedy in this thrilling and gripping, yet emotional story.
Throughout the game, I felt the game to be more of a theatre piece more than anything. It` s something that playing through the game, I could picture watching in the West End. A story of four characters, bonded together either through friend or relationship, through blood, and the story told by each of the characters, all inter-linking into one tragedy and dramatic ending.
The game itself, is very minimalistic and very simple, and that` something that I absolutely adore and Sassybot do it incredibly well. You will go around clicking that A button on your remote on several different objects in the room, that will trigger the next phrase to underline the story being told by the character in that room. It`s a very easy and simple, and you`ll always be able to tell what will trigger something off- any object will be outlined and glows out, so you know that you need to go and interact to trigger the story. It`s a game that is very simple in terms of its Gameplay, but it`s fantastic in terms of it story, and it`s something that has really, really been thought through. It`s a story that will really grip you in, and emotionally entice you, and for me, the story, makes it one of the best games I have ever played on the Xbox One. I haven’t seen any other Xbox game, especially a more smaller ID game grip me into it as much as Fragments of Him has.
It`s really simple. You`re going through the storybook of a player, and you`re asked to continue the manifest. You`ll wake up in the morning, go through Will`s normal routine, before heading to Uni and heading off, with each part throwing you back to a flashback before the tragedy strikes. It`s a game that isn’t so much about action and throwing yourself straight to the max, but more that the fact that they ask you to listen to the story, and entice you emotionally into the feet of the characters, and to be that character. Sometimes, the clicking and what not will come across as a bit of a tedious chore, and something that you may find yourself getting bored with, but I urge you to see past that, and to take in the powerful points of the game, and the powerful story that it compels.
I cannot stress how good and brilliant I have found this game. In terms of it`s gameplay, it`s not something that`s going to ask lots and lots of you, but it is something that is really going to entice you in terms of it`s story and take you on a dramatic and emotional journey, that for me, offers one of the best story-telling games to date on the Xbox One. It`s a short game, lasting not much longer than 2 hours, but a game that you ought to really try, as for me, it`s one of the best released on the Xbox One.
A huge thank you to Sassybot on providing us with a Review copy of Fragments of Him
