It doesn't come much more old school than Over The Moons kickstart funded The Fall. An old school exploration game which is usually more suited to a pc thanks to its point and click gameplay.
The Fall is the first game in a trilogy of titles that places you in the role of an A.I. named ARID who is tasked with keeping the human inside it's suit alive after crashing onto an unknown planet. The suit you crash-landed in is badly damaged, malfunctioning and slowly but surely the occupant is dying. When the game starts you find out that all the basic functions you need to help your host survive are badly damaged and seeking medical help is your primary objective.
The only tool at your disposal that works is your torch. Using this will help you pinpoint points of interest and items that are crucial to your hosts survival. This is where the old school gameplay comes in and this is exactly the point where some gamers may just switch off forever. You will do one hell of a lot of backtracking in The Fall. Pick up item A, move to location X and pick up item B. Then combine item A with item B and move back to your original location to access a control panel/door that you can now use. So backtracking is key to your success. One puzzle in particular had me scratching my head for over an hour because there was no real clue about what to do next. So I spent that whole hour going back and forth from one level to the next randomly using objects with anything I could interact with and by luck I solved it. Most objectives are just common sense though so don't let that put not off.
Later on in the game you will will encounter hostile robots and aliens which you will have to kill. These action/stealth moments should give your brain a rest but they are so short and so easy that they are barely worth mentioning. A few well placed shots and these sections are over almost as soon as they began and I never once had to use the cover mechanic apart from the games tutorial.
The Fall has one of the least intuitive control schemes I have ever come across and whoever thought of it deserves a kick in the balls. When you come across something you can pick up or something you need to interactive with you have to use the RB. Then still holding down RB you must negotiate a small menu of actions and objects that you have picked up. This may sound simple and in theory it should be but in practice it's so frustrating. It just doesn't work and there is no way to remap the controls. Who uses RB as a default action button anyway?
Graphically everything is very dark and dank which lends itself to the atmosphere perfectly. The story is also a neat twist on the usual survival theme. Playing as ARID and watching her develop over the course of the game as she seeks to overcome her programming and keep her host alive at all costs is very engaging and the voice acting is superb.
Point and click games on consoles are very hit and miss. The Fall has a lot of hits but misses big time with one of the most awkward control schemes I have ever come across and an ending that also leaves a lot to be desired. There are another two chapters to come yet so if Over The Moon can fix their control scheme I for one will be diving right into the next chapter.
Review copy supplied by XCN.
Game: The Fall.
Genre: Action Adventure/Platform
Developer: Over The Moon Games.
Publisher: Over The Moon Games.
Platform(s): Xbox One.