Forums > Submission Feedback > True's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West review

1st. thought: gushing praise. 2nd thought: hmm. :)

Liked how you focused on the play between the two main characters. I've only played the demo, but it seemed like they've kept the character development in focus, along with the drama. So that the screenplay makes sense, and this actually grabs you, instead of that they come off as just putting in difficult animation scenes to show off motion capture tech.

How did that work throughout the game, though? I think I get that you are definitively in love with the story (and Trip :p ). But maybe it could be possible to pick out a small piece of the screenplay to point out how..? Something about when Monkey goes from protecting Trip out of self-preservation, to obligation, and then (presumably) genuine emotions..? Do the things you do in the game as a player allow you to follow this development in some sense, or are you always following a script..? Can you see if there are some spots where you maybe can hesitate for a short while, as the scene moves on..? You mentioned the part in the demo when the wing smacks into the building - are there more scenes like that?

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So you can multi-player? One person as Trip and one as Monkey? That sounds pretty interesting but is there always something for the other person (Trip) to do beside watch Monkey pound on some robots?


You do not need to have "and" in this sentence I don't think.

"In a panic you’re forced to ascend and back into the ship’s interior before the entire wing slams into the building."

Age is a condition not a state of mind.

Fleinn: There are plenty of moments where you think Monkey is no longer obligated to her, and responds purely out of emotional attachment and there's one really powerful scene where you know he's not. The wonderful thing about Enslaved--and the difficult part about reviewing it--is that these encounters aren't at the beginning or even the middle before you're attached to these characters. They build up to it, and while it's far more powerful that way it makes it hard to actually include them without giving anything away. It moves fairly quick in terms of progression, and what you may think the object of the game to be--returning Trip--isn't the whole story. It does lead you there no matter what you do. You can stall in some places just to hear extra dialogue between them, but doing so in most areas would most likely get Trip killed.

As far as the plane scene, there are a couple more that are just as intense and a few other ones that aren't as hectic. It usually involves rescuing Trip, or chasing down a mech within a time limit before it has a chance to get to her.

I appreciate the input and will definitely try to work something out that I can put in to describe the bond without spoiling anything for the reader.

Coarse: No multi-player unfortunately. It would be a cool idea, definitely and maybe for the sequel.

I'll fix that sentence. Thank you.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

I've got to play devil's advocate a bit here.

A few weeks ago, someone submitted a video for the opening to this game (I think it's under the 360 section). And I watched it. And the exact opposite of "startling originality" came to mind, because the whole thing reminded me of Prince of Persia, and Assassin's Creed, and Uncharted, and five other games only with a different character. This looked like the exact kind of stuff I've played already, hanging from ledges and everything. I don't play a lot of new games, and I wasn't sold to make this one of them.

So hearing that opening detailed for -three- paragraph didn't do it for me. And that was the demo anyway. So I guess my point would be... spending three paragraphs on the demo material is probably not good strategy for a review, because the demo is already available for interested parties and anyone unimpressed by it has reason to throw the rest of the review into question.

(I might be a in a huge minority being unimpressed here. Probably.)

I don't know. There's a fine line to walk between too much and too little, especially with new releases, but I was more interested in the "peril on the road and countless dangers that could end one or both of them" and there wasn't enough of that to make me rethink my initial impression. Not a bad review by any means, but it didn't change my feelings after the demo, the risk when heavily detailing that part.

I'm only about halfway through Enslaved myself, but I can tell you that the game has been at its best when it makes the most of the two-character mechanic, in which you and Trip work together to solve puzzles, get past heavily-guarded areas, etc. You can't get a feel for that in the demo, so I don't think you should necessarily dismiss the game based on that alone, but I have to agree that True's decision to focus on that was a bit odd.

I must say, I'm having incredibly mixed feelings about the game. The story is wonderful, as is the chemistry between the two leads, and there are some terrific Uncharted-esque set pieces and moments of ingenious design. On the other hand, the platforming runs on autopilot and the combat is an absolute disaster. I don't like feeling this conflicted.

I really want to love this game. It's got some fantastic artistic merit held back by sheer mechanical incompetence.

On a side note:

but given that it was developed by Ninja Theory, the masterminds behind Heavenly Sword, such a wait seemed trivial

Now THAT is a phrase I never thought I'd read.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

I feel for you, Mike. I'm incredibly torn as well. I understand where you and Leroux are coming from. For those who have not played the demo it works, for anyone who has that part--at least--doesn't introduce anything new.

I'll look through it again and I want to play it on hard for the trophy so I'll try and find another part that I can focus on, but that was why I found Enslaved so incredible. It wasn't just the story, but how they told it. I could describe the scene with the Rhino running away with Trip and your desperate race to save her before the thing crashes, but if you haven't played it and spent so much time trying to keep her from harm's way, I just don't see it having the same impact. The first chapter seemed like the best option in regards to a summary, but you're both right and I could afford to be a little more detailed for the later story.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

I actually made the rare decision to play the game on the highest difficulty from the get-go, and I'm wondering if I may have shot myself in the foot by doing that, as there have been some combat-heavy situations that have really given me a lot of frustration. Still, my biggest complaint so far -- the horrible combat camera -- has nothing to do with difficulty.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

If you beat it on easy or normal, upgrade then go back to chapter select and choose "hard" you can use everything you've gathered previously. And I think most of the tech orbs are present in all three difficulties, so you're not really losing anything if you opt for easy or normal first (except maybe pride).

As far as the camera angles there was one area where I about had a stroke and that was in the battle against the Rhino. There was one trophy that required you to beat him without getting hit by the charge. While that seems easy enough to do, I kept having to turn the camera to face him and wait until he was almost by me to "cloud" out of the way. With no targeting system it was just so much harder than it needed to be and I ended up fighting him about 30 different times for that one accomplishment.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

I want the achievement for beating this game on Hard now that I've started, and I only have the game until Friday, so I'm sticking with it.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

What's cool--and I'm not sure if other games do this--is if you beat it on Hard it will automatically give you the one for normal and easy as well.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

I'm now wondering if I should drop the difficulty before I break the fucking disc in half. Good heavens is this game broken. How the fuck did you enjoy this garbage?

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

I couldn't even imagine playing it on Hard without all the shield and combat upgrades they give you.

I played normal to start out with. That's probably why. Even then there were a couple places where I got frustrated as hell.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

I'm at that part right after you restore the windmill and you just get pounded with shit over and over. These fucking red robots are so fucking hard to kill. And what the hell is the point of having a dodge move if all of the enemies' attacks home in on your position anyway? Ridiculous. I know I'm in a fit of rage right now, but the combat absolutely destroys this game.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

Finally got past it. Man, writing my review will be very interesting.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

In reading this thread, I think I've realized the reason that many such games don't let you pick the "hard" difficulty until you've beaten an easier setting.

//Zig

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Well, that's the thing: It's not simply that the game is too hard. I can handle a challenge. But the game is just flat-out broken, and that's why playing it on the highest difficulty is such a pain in the ass.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

Fuck it, I'm putting it back down to Normal. That Dog fight at the end of Chapter 8 was too much. No achievement is worth this.

Edit: Okay, the combat does suck, but at least it's manageable now. I'm having a much better time.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

I just have to let you know that from this sentence I had thought there was multiplayer co-op.

"I’ve played with partners before, but the co-op works here better than others simply because Monkey and Trip are on opposite sides of the spectrum."

Age is a condition not a state of mind.

Thanks, Coarse. I'll look at that.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

..um. Staff? The entire "not actually awful" thing only makes sense in some sort of context :p

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I wondered about that, too. I went and browsed the web after seeing that, but... well, most places seem to actually have been looking forward to the game.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Just finished the game. Last level was absolutely spectacular, but the ending was really half-assed. After the final boss, it felt like they were rushing to finish the story so the credits could roll. The game deserved a better send-off than it got.

Still, I think I'm settling on the conclusion that Enslaved is a good game despite its constant attempts to convince me otherwise.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

I really will pick it up. I loved Heavenly Sword.

Interestingly, I seem to remember Suskie cursing out the ogre-level in Heavenly Sword similarly to his cursing out here. Seems the company is nothing if not consistent.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

I think you'll like it Zipp. I wouldn't recommend starting on Hard, just because it's brutal. But you seem to be a lot like me, and prefer the games that take a bit of a chance, and lean more towards the artistic side of things as opposed to construction. Enslaved does that incredibly well, so much so that I could look past all the minor flaws in design.

If I Offended You, You Needed It.

Interestingly, I seem to remember Suskie cursing out the ogre-level in Heavenly Sword similarly to his cursing out here. Seems the company is nothing if not consistent.

Oh yeah, I remember that! Yeah, fuck these guys!

"Art over construction" is a good way to put it. Enslaved is very rough around the edges, but its artistic merits make it worth playing. Kind of similar to Heavenly Sword, which I felt was an average game whose artistic merits made it worth playing.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.