Contrast has a brilliant idea - what could happen if we could shift into shadows and live in the umbral world? The developers really had lightning in a bottle here, and the 1920s setting is just perfect. The game also deals with two of my favorite themes in fiction - that being "what is real?" and the image of the double, the reflection, the...other.
You play as Dawn, the "imaginary" best friend of Didi, a young girl who appears to be retreating into fantasy to deal with the break-up of her parents. While running around a beautifully imagined world you shift into shadow to solve various puzzles. I want to live in this video game. There are not many games I can say that about, the only other one being Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The atmosphere is just THAT good. This would be the perfect game if it were not for one molar-crunching flaw. The controls are a nightmare. The sticks are too twitchy, the buttons are unresponsive and the camera is epileptic. You'll be shouting and swearing a LOT during this game. I finished it in four hours and I'm happy I stuck with it to the end, it's just a shame that no updates have been made to fix the bugs.
And if you think that the voice of Didi's surrogate dad is familiar, it's none other than Elias Toufexis who also voices Adam Jensen in Deus Ex.
There is amazing potential here and, for the most part, it's a wonderful game, but the controls cripple it.
There are 22 trophies/achievements (I could only manage 15) and trading cards included, as well as a lovely soundtrack album.
You play as Dawn, the "imaginary" best friend of Didi, a young girl who appears to be retreating into fantasy to deal with the break-up of her parents. While running around a beautifully imagined world you shift into shadow to solve various puzzles. I want to live in this video game. There are not many games I can say that about, the only other one being Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The atmosphere is just THAT good. This would be the perfect game if it were not for one molar-crunching flaw. The controls are a nightmare. The sticks are too twitchy, the buttons are unresponsive and the camera is epileptic. You'll be shouting and swearing a LOT during this game. I finished it in four hours and I'm happy I stuck with it to the end, it's just a shame that no updates have been made to fix the bugs.
And if you think that the voice of Didi's surrogate dad is familiar, it's none other than Elias Toufexis who also voices Adam Jensen in Deus Ex.
There is amazing potential here and, for the most part, it's a wonderful game, but the controls cripple it.
There are 22 trophies/achievements (I could only manage 15) and trading cards included, as well as a lovely soundtrack album.
