Recent reviews by Randominity

Go play Stanley Parable first.

In a similar vein, this isn't a game so much as an interactive musing about the nature of video games (and art in general). Unlike Stanley Parable, this doesn't even really attempt to be enjoyable so much as to directly challenge the way you think.

And it is challenging. Not in game difficulty (it's a walking simulator) but in that it requires you to really try to interpret the experience in order to appreciate it.

I have to recommend this game because it does deliver on requiring you to change the way you think in order to get past some challenges.

However, I think that's about all that you can get out of it. Once it starts to focus on the 'tools', the dramatic nature of how you approached puzzles shifts into something much less unique (though in no way bad).

Also, it's really just a set of puzzles. They may be tied together with locality, they don't really form anything approaching themes or statements. Maybe just an atmosphere.

If you can buy into the story and the way it's presented, Valiant Hearts offers a very different perspective on war than I've ever seen in a game before. While that's not surprising given that it's about WWI, what is surprising is that if you 'buy in' to the ideas and the presentation, the merging of game play and theme delivers a truly unique experience.

Note that while there are definitely some detours getting there (both mechanically and tonally), I personally found the journey to be well worth it.

A fantastically well put together game.

The core mechanic is used in all sorts of interesting variations all throughout which keeps the game constantly fresh. Reminds me of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: an adventure game which uses a specialized mechanic in a multitude of different ways instead of the standard point & click puzzle solving.

While not every beat landed for me personally, this is exactly what we should all want out of a game: some interesting mechanics, a thoughtful presentation, and an attempt to say something.

It's more of a proof of concept about gameplay. And it completely succeeds at that. But don't look for much more.