I review "On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness"
A little while ago, "Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode 1" (hereafter RSPD) was released. Considering the game comes from those who write a webcomic about games, not to mention, folks who are regularly critical of... regular games... the game was hotly anticipated, and many were keen to have their own say about it.
I played RSPD shortly after it came out, and wrote down some impressions. Here they are, now that everyone already knows what the game is like:
The very first thing that hits you about the game is that Tycho and Gabe were somehow involved in it's creation (I am the best reviewer evar). You really notice everything from the game mechanics, art style, and writing are in a style that they display on their webcomic and in their "news". Every object you interact with is individually narrated. Every trash-can, each pointless door, every retarded cat has paragraphs written about how it's not really important, and how that it doesn't impact your life. Unfortunately, these trashcans occasionally contain items which you find useful, so you have to interact with them all. Seriously, after like the fifth time, it's no longer funny. After the twentieth, it's infuriating hearing about the life story of a trashcan. I understand that they were trying to be ironic, but it started to remind me less of Tycho and more of Jane Austen.
There were far too many garbage cans and crates. Garbage cans and crates are well known "cut-and-paste" level elements, so I can see that they're being ironic here as well, but it stil makes the game seem dull and repetetive, even though each of them look slightly different, and have slightly different narration. The whole thing seems as though a whole cavalcade of art and text vomited onto the screen.
The game itself is practically final fantasy, with a little bit of quick-time events. It's not a bad game, but it tries too hard to not try too hard...