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| A MYSTical Journey awaits you... |
RIME is an indie adventure puzzle video game developed by Spanish developer Tequila Works and published by Grey Box and Six Foot. It was released in 2017 for consoles and PC. Originally developed as Echoes of Siren for Xbox Live Arcade when the game was green-lit by Microsoft, but later rejected. Funding for the game was obtained from Sony as a PlayStation 4 exclusive until Tequila Works re-acquired the rights of the intellectual property in 2016. It was directed by Raรบl Rubio Munรกrriz and written by Raรบl Rubio Munรกrriz and Rob Yescombe.
QLOC made the port the game for Xbox One and Windows; Tantalus Media was responsible for the Nintendo Switch version.
All screenshots here were captured on PlayStation 4.
I'm not going to spoil the plot, because it's one of those stories that you need to experience yourself. While it's short a 5-hour game, it's a terrific emotional story with an intriguing theme, nothing generic. Rime begins with a young boy named, Enu, who has washed ashore on a mysterious island, with a giant tower at its far end. As the boy explores the island, guided by a magical fox named, Nana, he encounters a mysterious man in a red cape on several occasions but can never reach him. During the progress of the game, the boy has recollections about how he came to the island. The story is linear but I haven't seen such a beautiful story like this in a while. The game design uses the island environment itself, and audio without a spoken narrative to tell the game's story, it's all visual. Very old school.
The story takes inspiration and influence from A Wizard of Earthsea, Greek Mythology, Mediterranean Europe, Studio Ghibli films, and Thatgamecompany's Journey. Creative director Raรบl Rubio has also referenced the films Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Jason and the Argonauts, as well as the artwork of Joaquin Sorolla, Salvador Dalรญ and Giorgio de Chirico as influences. Rime also reminds people of similar games, Myst, The Witness, and The Talos Principle.
For gameplay, it's single-player and the entire game and the story revolves around environmental puzzles and exploration. It doesn't let you explore every inch of the island, but most of it. The puzzles can be easy fun to challenging and requires logical thinking, however, to be clear the game isn't about the puzzles but the journey.
The game is played in a third-person view as the player controls the young boy through the entire journey. The player can make the boy run, climb, carry objects, and push or pull larger objects across the island's landscapes. The player can have the boy shout or sing, which can trigger certain events tied to nearby statues, such as causing a door to open for a limited length of time. Unlike other third-person adventure games, there are no attacks and fighting mechanics, it's just peaceful and I really like that.
The cel-shaded visuals and art style in their minimalism are beautifully superb and very unique in their own right, it's very Greek-like.
Out of the box of the disc version on PS4, it's bug-free, however, there are a "few" frame-rate slowdowns but nothing is broken. It won't ruin your experience.
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| Who's a good fox? |
As you explore the island, you will find various extra collectibles to find throughout the game such as new outfits, keyholes, emblems, lullaby shells, and much more to keep you occupied, making it a replayable value. It's nice and surprising to have those kinds of extras, but after you collected everything, there's nothing else much to do.
David Garcรญa Dรญaz's music score on the other hand is amazingly original and done beautifully. The score is very emotional and impactful in that it ties very well with the story's themes and each level, and also reminds you of a Studio Ghibli score. One of the themes, "Song of the Sea" was sung by Mirella Dรญez Morรกn.
Pros
- Simplified gameplay
- Fun puzzles
- Beautiful art design
- Amazing story
- Beautiful music score
- Decent extras
Cons
- Short, 5-hour long
- Little replayability
- High price
Rime is Highly Recommended for people that love story-driven games with puzzle components, but you should wait 'til the price drops to $20 or $10. It's not worth $40 because of its short length. 8.5
I was pleasantly surprised by how deep I was sucked into the story. I expected a puzzle game when I started, but it turned out to be a beautiful game overall. Some games are just made to relax but this game can touch your soul. Love your family and spend your free time respecting the best gift in the world.
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