The cave scenery is stunning, my jaw hit the floor on that section. Sure, some of the physics and particle effects are dated (few games get wind right, right?!), but some scenery is truly gorgeous. With respect, I don't agree with some of the comments, this game (or experience is probably more correct) has given me one of my most memorable PlayStation experiences and I have just now played it. If only The Chinese Room had implemented a hidden run button into its debut game as well as its sequel. With there most likely being no more than an engraving or two to look at on the mistaken path it feels like you've wasted your time, and in turn we were tired of the lack of excitement in anything we were doing. This flaw also comes into play when you take a wrong turn and end up in a dead end. It didn't work for us and we were just left feeling frustrated as we knew exactly where we needed to go, but the game insisted on us walking at a snail's pace. On top of that, at a couple of points the game will decrease the walk speed even further, possibly just to make a scene a little more atmospheric. To make things worse, the walk speed is a bit too slow for our liking which made certain sections incredibly tedious. The only interactions with the protagonist is the ability to walk and zoom in on things you wish to observe. The game does not have a HUD and you cannot interact with anything whatsoever. While the basic premise here is one that will intrigue you enough to play through to the end, the hard facts surrounding the plot vacated the island long ago.Īlthough the story is fairly deep, the gameplay here is the definition of bare bones. However, these queries are mostly left unanswered as a large amount of what you're told is left to interpretation. When put together, the character's reasoning for going to the island and the surroundings itself is fairly interesting and will leave you with many questions upon the game's conclusion.

As you navigate its rocky cliffs you'll come across engravings, paintings, and hieroglyphics that delve into the years gone by. Speaking of which, the island itself has a bit of a tale to tell, too.

Dear esther cave