8 / 10 Pros bewitching graphics and music

enthralling story

relaxing experience Cons short

not really challenging Zioman

17697 pkt.

It's hard to believe that the first trailer of RiME was presented almost four years ago during Gamescom’s indie showcase for Sony. Since that moment, the Tequila Works creation was in my sights – cel-shading graphics, island full of mysteries, beautiful musical score… After acquiring the rights for the game from Sony Interactive Entertainment last year, the intriguing proposition finally arrived – therefore it’s time to crash the expectations with reality and check if the final result is worthy of being recommended to those waiting for its release.

Our journey starts on the beach, where the main hero - a castoff – is coming to his senses. The castaway begins his march into the mainland, while a gigantic tower looms in the distance… At first I thought that the main objective of the game was reaching its colossal gates but it happens to be only the beginning - the tower serves us as a gateway between unique levels of the game, and as we climb the spiral staircase, we unravel the deep storyline and visit new worlds, full of interesting challenges.

I'm only not sure if I should use that word here – challenge. RiME won’t give problems to those who grasp a controller from time to time. While exploring the breath-taking terrains I haven’t come across any major difficulty spikes or tough conundrums (I admit hitting a wall once, but it was just a silly overlook) – the puzzles that we solve in the game are organic, solving them comes to us quite naturally. It can be seen as a drawback, especially if you’re looking for a complexity level of The Witness' brain teasers. I for one looked at it from a different perspective – the game helped me to relax and unwind, wasn’t punishing for losing a life and I was easier for me to immerse myself into the story and fully breathe in the artistic approach.

The story itself is the biggest of RiME’s virtues – moving onwards and upwards the steps of a white giant we start to put the whole narrative together (it comes to us naturally, since there is no dialogue or voice-acting in the game). It’s hard to put it on paper and not to discuss the main plot’s course without spoiling it because our hero’s tale is not that unambiguous as it would seem. During the final minutes of this short puzzle-platformer we’re hit with an emotional bomb of a powerful payload – if you’ll shed a tear then or a little bit before, there’s nothing to be ashamed about.

Despite their simplicity, the puzzles are carefully woven into the world – we have some classics, such as pushing items from place to place (which puzzle game won’t offer a similar task?), but also manipulating the casted shadows, which can open the path towards severed chambers. The more you get into it, the more complicated it becomes (not overcomplicated, though) – you’ll have to use your noggin, playing with switches on separate levels or interact with the island’s inhabitants(!). It’s not too easy at all times, with the creators implementing obstacles that can kill our main hero – diving underwater and maintaining oxygen levels, looking for cover from a gigantic bird-like monster or planning our approach with eluding shadowy figures at the same time, yearning our life essence.

If someone would ask me what games are drawn to my mind while playing RiME, I wouldn’t hesitate and respond momentarily with Abzu, Journey, The Unfinished Swan or The Last Guardian. These are the games that you play after a long day of work when we want to be transported to a distant, unreal world, revel in its beauty and explore it with no major hindrances. I must admit that RiME appealed to me more than the sometimes boring TLG did – and it’s a significant compliment. I have to mention the musical score as well – it doesn’t overburden the player and stays in the background most of the time, but when it comes forward we get the instant feeling of significance to our efforts.

Let me tell you about the trophies as well, since getting the craved platinum cup seems to be an easy task here. A patient gamer shouldn’t have any problems with it – it doesn’t seem like the creator of RiME require some kind of enhanced reflexes or tenacity to get it. In the game we’ll find a fair share of collectables such as keyholes giving us an insight into the backstory, and other requirements boil down to visiting a particular spot on the map or perform an action that didn’t come to our mind at the time. After finishing the story, the main menu will offer a chapter selection to get back to those omitted assignments – we’ll also see how many missing bits and bobs we have to obtain. Finishing the story shouldn’t take us more than 6 hours, but I can imagine that while going for the platinum the amount of time should at least double.

At first glance, RiME might seem rather simple - just a decent platformer with uncomplicated puzzles. It also sports a hidden agenda, one that many AAA productions can only hope to have. It can make us reflect on certain issues, allow us to take a breather and contemplate… and in the process, we can visit one of the most stunning puzzle worlds available (Unreal Engine 4 shines here, even though the framerate can skip some frames occasionally – it’s also uncapped to 60 fps), strain our brains a bit, but foremost – relax and concentrate on exploring and uncovering the truth behind the mysterious island...