Evan's Remains Review — A Middle-Ground Mystery

Publisher: Whitethorn Digital

Developer: Matías Schmied

Rating: Everyone 10+

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

Also on: Xbox One, Switch, PC

Most genre hybrids take aspects of different game types and blend them into one seamless experience. In an action/RPG, for example, players usually can’t tell where the “action” stops and the “RPG” begins. Evan’s Remains is different; it combines a visual novel and a puzzle game, but each genre remains distinct and intact. It alternates between puzzle-solving sequences and story scenes, but never feels disjointed. Instead, Evan’s Remains is a stylish, side-scrolling indie that injects variety at the right moments, even as it struggles with its defining elements.

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You control Dysis, a young woman who shows up on a mysterious island in search of a missing genius named Evan. That’s all you know at the beginning, but the narrative gets more complicated as you proceed, bringing in other characters and additional mysteries. Like a visual novel, the scenes unfold through text boxes and character portraits, though you also have plenty of opportunities to appreciate the excellent pixel art and animation. The story is well-paced, with a trail of questions to follow. Where is Evan? Who is this shadowy figure? What is the island’s secret? I enjoyed the pursuit of the answers, but the tale culminates in an absurd twist that retroactively makes the characters and events less interesting, so the journey ends with a shrug instead of a bang.

The narrative sequences are only part of the experience, serving as interludes that give you breaks between puzzles – single-screen challenges requiring you jump over a barrier on the far side. Different blocks can teleport you, launch you in the air, and disappear once you leap off. I like how all of these elements are combined in ways that give each puzzle a unique approach, so you aren’t jumping through the exact same hoops from one to the next. And even though you’re running and leaping across 2D blocks, the platforming isn’t about skill. I like that success is more about experimentation and logic; once I figured out what to do, I never had any trouble carrying out the plan.

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Though the experience is fun and pleasant, Evan’s Remains also feels constrained. It’s a short game, but that isn’t a problem by itself. However, the three-hour total playtime doesn’t give the puzzle ideas enough time to ramp up to a satisfying level. They always seem to stop short of making you feel clever; since the solutions are always a mechanical series of jumps, they don’t invite or reward unconventional thinking. You’re left to imagine the smart or intricate ways the components could be layered, because the challenges don’t do it themselves. This modest level of ambition certainly doesn’t make Evan’s Remains a bad puzzle game – but it doesn’t make it a great one, either.

Evan’s Remains successfully achieves what it attempts: It delivers a compact story punctuated by neat puzzles. It switches between these central elements frequently, so no one idea overstays its welcome, but the concepts aren’t deep or compelling enough. A disappointing conclusion hurts the narrative, and a lack of evolution hurts puzzles; since the game is split distinctly into sections involving only those two things, even the best moments of Evan’s Remains carry a sense of unfulfilled potential.

Score: 7.75

Summary: Evan’s Remains is a stylish, side-scrolling indie that struggles with its defining elements.

Concept: Unravel a mystery by alternating between puzzle-solving and dialogue-reading

Graphics: Stylish pixel art and impressive animations lend the game an appealing aesthetic

Sound: Atmospheric music and distinct sound effects suit the gameplay and story

Playability: The controls are simple, so the challenge comes from arriving at solutions rather than performing precise leaps

Entertainment: Though the narrative and puzzles don’t ultimately ascend to great heights, Evan’s Remains is interesting and unique

Replay: Moderate

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Song Of Horror Review – A Frightening Ode To The Classics

Publisher: Raiser Games

Developer: Protocol Games

Rating: Not rated

Reviewed on: PC

Good horror movies get under your skin, creating unsettling feels that linger long after you’ve left the theater or turned off the TV. The element of interactivity that video games offer can elevate those sensations even further. Knowing that the hero’s fate rests solely on your actions is a far cry from helplessly watching them get stalked by a killer and shouting at them to not go in that room. Song of Horror is an ode to classic survival horror that taps into what makes the genre resonate with fans who want to get in on the action. There are a few bum notes here and there, but it’s a tense bit of storytelling worth experiencing.

The “song” in the title refers to a piece of cursed music that purportedly drives its listeners to madness – and alarming acts of violence. Over the course of five episodes, publisher Daniel Noyer and a rotating cast of characters investigates the disappearance of a globe-trotting author who was researching the mysterious tune. This is definitely an experience in the style of old-school Resident Evil, down to the fixed camera angles and bizarrely conceived puzzles. A few lingering issues are tough to avoid, such as how the shifting perspectives make navigating some of the tighter interiors more difficult, but they generally don’t get in the way. That’s important, considering the stakes.

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Players travel to a variety of standard-issue horror setpieces, including mansions and abandoned hospitals, but there’s a ghoulish twist: Characters can die, and once they’re out of the game, they’re permanently gone. That simple choice elevates the action, making me paranoid that every door I opened or hallway I crept down might be my last.

You can choose to play with or without permadeath, but you do yourself a disservice by opting out. Each episode introduces new characters, so if you accidentally cull a few characters from your investigation, you aren’t completely out of luck. Even so, I felt awful whenever an investigator died. In one memorable (and completely avoidable) death, I made my character sneak out of a second-floor window without double-checking whether scaffolding was in place. Another time, I successfully slammed a door shut on a monstrous presence, and then immediately walked out that same door. Deaths don’t just remove characters from the roster; sometimes they come back in unexpected ways, leading to a few of my favorite moments.

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Each episode moves the investigation to a new location, but a constant malevolent force follows you. People who have been exposed to the song are plagued by shadowy creatures that include an entity known as the Presence, and it’s the main source of the game’s myriad scares. This monstrous entity gives the impression that you’re constantly being stalked. I quickly learned to listen to every door before opening it and braced for the next jump-scare that felt like a dreaded inevitability. The pacing is great, with long stretches of nothing interspersed with moments of instant panic. You’re never really certain what’s around the corner, and Song of Horror capitalizes on that feeling of not knowing what’s next – and even what is and isn’t possible.

In true survival-horror fashion, your characters aren’t action-movie heroes. When the Presence comes knocking, all you can do it temporarily stave it off. There are a few different ways to do that, such as beating back grasping hands as they try to force a door open, in a frantic minigame that never really lost its effectiveness. Other interactions, such as getting into a hiding place and trying to keep your heartbeat slowed, were similarly effective at pulling me into the horror, though its insistence on going for a second jump scare each time was a bit much. My most tense interaction was one where a blind monster did its best to sniff me out, and I needed to remain undetected by controlling my breathing. It was mostly tense because the instructions were vague, and every error I made drew the creature closer and closer to killing off a character who I’d grown to appreciate.  

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With a few exceptions, the puzzles are less murky. They involve a lot of item gathering and multistep object manipulation, but solutions made sense overall once I calibrated myself to the peculiar logic. Clues are hidden throughout each level, too, which gave me an extra incentive to open every drawer and read every file. Even if an item or object wasn’t useful, it was interesting to read each characters’ thoughts on it. For instance, alarm installer Alina Ramos might see an array of masks and comment on how they remind her of the village where she’s from, whereas sales manager Etienne Bertrand might simply shudder at their strange designs. They’re not make-or-break moments, but they help humanize and differentiate the cast. 

Some of the best puzzles in the game incorporate the Presence in some form or another. In one episode, I spent a few hours tracking down ingredients to concoct a luminol solution. What followed was a tense chase sequence, where I sprayed the solution in a darkened maze to see the telltale glow that indicated the presence of blood. All the while, I was being hunted. It was a heart-pounding experience that made me feel a great sense of relief when I eventually found what I was looking for. Not just relief that it was over so I could just keep going ahead, but that I managed to survive in the first place.

Song of Horror’s production values initially turned me off, with poorly animated characters and awful voice acting. Despite those flaws, I had a hard time putting the game down once I was drawn into its world. The quirks even grew on me, the same way I embrace schlocky low-budget horror movies. What I most appreciate about Song of Horrors is that it doesn’t just mimic what came before. It’s clearly a tune inspired by other survival-horror classics, but it has its own unique tempo and melody. And it’s a darkly catchy one, to boot. 

Score: 8

Summary: There are a few bum notes here and there, but it’s a tense bit of storytelling worth experiencing.

Concept: Unravel the mystery of a cursed song in an homage to classic survival horror, with permadeath raising the stakes

Graphics: Environments look fantastic, featuring a wide array of crumbling, creepy backdrops. Characters are scary looking, whether they’re monsters or the playable heroes

Sound: Moans of unseen monsters and other environmental sounds ratchet up the tension. Voice acting is hokey and weird

Playability: The fixed-camera presentation can make navigation tricky at times, and the minigames during a few monster encounters aren’t intuitive

Entertainment: Don’t let the lackluster production values scare you off. Song of Horror has some genuinely shocking moments

Replay: Moderately high

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The Last Of Us Part II Review – A Perfect Circle

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Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release: February 21, 2020

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

There are many things about human nature we struggle against. We see what we want to see. We acquire our beliefs and perspectives from the people and the world around us. And sometimes, in order to see, we must be shown.

The Last of Us Part II illuminates many complicated and difficult facets of humanity – a journey that tackles empathy, anger, and how we are defined by those around us. These philosophical considerations can be uncomfortable to wrestle with, but Naughty Dog conveys them with careful nuance and unflinching emotion, creating a narrative masterpiece with a unique power few games have ever achieved.

The story opens with a conversation about how the first game ended – about what Joel did at the Firefly hospital, and the lie he told Ellie about it. That exchange lays the foundation for the current state of their complicated relationship, which players come to understand even more deeply as the story continues. Holed up in an encampment in Jackson, Wyoming, Ellie and Joel are trying to come to terms with the consequences of their previous actions, and the world continues to suffer from the chaos of the infection that has transformed mankind and ravaged civilization.

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The Last of Us Part II is defined by its story at every turn, and Naughty Dog masterfully weaves its themes in at every level. It depicts the raw violence that Ellie uses to navigate this harsh world, and that violence feeds into pivotal plot points during her quest for revenge. Yes, you kill many humans and Infected along the way, but the accumulated effect of Ellie’s fury weighs on you over time. Even as you clear an area of hostile guards, you question your own role in the brutality. The people you assassinate have names, and you can overhear them talking about their loved ones as you sneak up on them. Though it’s difficult to say that this is “fun,” the way The Last of Us Part II forges this level of investment and immersion is one of its greatest strengths.

The chaotic, post-apocalyptic overlay creates the perfect opportunity for different factions to vie for power. In addition to the zombie-like Infected, you also fight the militarized WLF and the technology-averse Seraphites. You deal with all these groups in intense encounters that blend sneaking and shooting in varied and unpredictable ways. Ellie’s increased agility lets you jump, crawl, and vault through areas and take advantage of verticality, but the biggest improvement to combat is the way the world pushes you to play. Stealth is always rewarded, and you can control the battlefield with clever use of your resources, especially in the larger environments. I knew I made a mistake when I died, and I felt satisfaction when I skillfully handled a situation.

Even with its many combat scenarios, The Last of Us Part II offers tranquil and lonely moments. Some areas are devoid of encounters completely, but they don’t feel barren. Instead, they focus on world-building, or cause you as a player to reflect on your actions. The people you meet along the way also play an important part in your journey; when traveling alone, you feel their absence.

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Environments tell their own stories of those who became infected. People waiting for their families to return, soldiers hunting deserters, and patients seeking treatment – you piece together these tragic and fascinating tales by reading notes and interpreting clues in the world. From a more practical standpoint, exploring every area is important for gathering resources used to craft items and upgrade talents like faster crawling and improved awareness. Almost every corner has something to find, and I felt rewarded for digging through drawers and searching every room. Going into an empty store, it was easy to feel for the characters in this world who had their lives upended. And as much as gaming can be an escape, the state of the real world right now provides a lens that is difficult to ignore; I never thought seeing the remains of a bookstore or a restaurant would hit harder due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they did.

The production values that Naughty Dog brings to this experience are second to none. The characters don’t only look good – they look real, complete with quirks that make them more believable as humans. The world and its inhabitants are visually stunning, with artwork and animations you will see just once, quips and conversations that make the world feel alive, and a soundtrack and sound effects that brought chills to my spine. Low hums and water dripping on empty bottles add to the tension as you navigate the perils of the world.

I can rave about the attention to detail, the world, and the combat, but the story is where The Last of Us Part II sets a new bar. It is more about challenging your heart than your reflexes, and I simply cannot recommend it enough. There is much to be said about this game that can’t be said here due to spoilers, but you should play it as soon as you can with as little info as possible. But you don’t need to know specifics to appreciate how the gameplay and environmental cues all play into a single purpose: They make you feel the choices, helplessness, and the violence at the heart of this world and its characters. I can safely say this is the best narrative game I have played. I felt the loss. I felt the confusion. It is a game that turned me inside out with each twist of the screw.

Score: 10

Summary: Naughty Dog's masterpiece is a sequel unlike any other, taking video game storytelling to new heights.

Concept: The next chapter in the story of Ellie and Joel will change your perceptions of who they are and the world they live in

Graphics: If this isn’t the best-looking PlayStation 4 game, it is certainly near the top of the list

Sound: An amazing soundtrack is complemented by audio tracks that bring tension to almost every scene

Playability: The stealth/horror mechanics feel great from beginning to end, and an array of difficulty and accessibility options make the experience highly customizable

Entertainment: The Last of Us Part II is a monumental achievement in video game storytelling

Replay: Moderate

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