Ok I beat it and the least I can do after finishing this... trip is to post some final impressions
- Tragic VA across the board
- Frustrating controls on PS4, especially when you have to select different parts in an intricate puzzle.
- Camera often leaves important things out of view. I had to look up where to go next sometimes because sections of the map are obscured. Take this segment from the GS review
Many of these moments rely on arbitrarily placed objects that either require a sharp eye or just blind luck to find. One genuinely clever puzzle forces you to finagle with the accelerometer of a broken-down roller coaster and figure out how to get the car to stop at a the entrance of a secret passageway. The necessary information can be derived from a paper clue nearby, but you need two metal poles to do the job. However, one is haphazardly placed under a bench within the expansive amusement park. So, even the better gameplay moments of the game are held back by curious design decisions
You find one rod where it makes sense, but that other location is so well hidden (and out of the way) that I tried for ages to solve the puzzle with one rod.
- The concept is actually pretty cool: you help an indigenous tribe on their pilgrimage. It's just that the antagonists forced into this are a joke and not believable at all. One of them is a bald army commander with an eye patch, wish I was making it up.
- In most old school adventures you can zip around the map quickly if you're looking for items or how to solve puzzles, but the process is agonizing here. Kate is sloooow even when running and the loading times start to add up. Game even has to load if you enter a zoomed in puzzle screen. Combined with the clunky interface, this is one rough game to navigate through.
- Best part are some of the puzzles, especially the later ones. Even here you can find yourself fighting the interface
- The soundtrack is really good! The music is wasted on this game
- When the entire game is broken, why the hell not: glitched trophies. It's something minor, but is also evidence of this game's quality. It's impossible to get a platinum atm because two trophies are glitched for everyone. I also got two more that just didn't unlock.
Shame it turned out like this, because the concept of helping a tribe migration is a nice change of pace from all the other worn out formulas. I also like how the objective of the first half of the game is literally a prosthetic leg.
All in all I'll have to go with a decent to strong 'avoid at all costs' for this one. Even if you're a big fan of the series I'd tread carefully.