The Fall – Take over a combat suit to save the pilot inside
I came across The Fall during the End of Summer Sale on the Humble Bundle Store and there was something about the description that really grabbed me. Not to mention that the trailer is really well done.
So I bought it and I wasn’t disappointed.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I can say that the story is really well-written and compelling. You play as ARID, an AI in a high tech combat suit that is activated as the suit is plummeting towards a planet. She doesn’t know where she is or how she got there, but she does know her objective: protect the unresponsive pilot inside the suit and get him to a medical facility at all costs. This game is not just about combat; in fact, you don’t even start with a gun (ARID still kicks ass though). You’ll need to explore the area you landed in and piece together how to get through obstacles in your way. There’s a mystery behind the planet where you landed and as you unravel it, you’ll see ARID evolve into something more than she initially was. There’s also some dark humor thrown in here and there which I thought were pretty funny, but I’ve always liked that sort of thing.
The graphics are very reminiscent of LIMBO in that there’s not a lot of colour, and it uses shadows and silhouettes to create a creepy atmosphere. I wouldn’t call it a horror game as there wasn’t much that actually spooked me, which is a good thing. But there’s a definite sense of wrongness as you explore this strange planet that you crash-landed on. The voice-overs are really well done. You get a real sense of personality even when the characters are just AIs.
If I have any complaints, it’s that sometimes getting behind cover would be a little weird. It would seem like I’m close enough but I wasn’t, so poor ARID would stand there taking bullets while I tried to figure things out. It’s probably due to the side-scrolling nature of that game, and that you don’t run into cover objects, they’re always in the background or foreground.
I really wish this game was longer (I completed it in 4 hours) but since this is the first story in a trilogy, that’s not so much of a complaint as me being impatient. I can’t wait for the next installment to come out.
Oh, and did I mention that the company who behind it, Over the Moon, is based in Vancouver, BC? Canadian gamer solidarity, man.