What is it?

Rime is an Indy, 3rd Person, Artistic, Open Level, Platforming, Fantasy, Adventure.

What’s good?

Beautiful cell shaded game levels, surprising variety in level design, a great sense of exploration and discovery, responsive platforming controls.

What’s bad?

Rime is a short game however compared to other indy titles it’s a good length, the story is very ethereal, the weight of what the developers are trying to say is lost in translation.

Released: 2017-05-26	Developer: Tequila Works	Publisher: Grey Box Games
Completed: 2017-08-26	Completion: 100%	Highest Trophy: Platinum

Rime – Full Review

First off let me say I enjoyed Rime. It was one of the better indy titles I’ve played. I may not have had the emotional reaction to it as I had with games like Journey, Firewatch or Inside but the game offered a lot more content than any of those titles. Now admittedly more content doesn’t mean a better game and in this case that’s absolutely true. Rime isn’t as good as those other games however those are some of the best independent games available so by no means does that suggest Rime is a bad game. Now in most reviews they mention the similarities between Rime and other titles. I hate to beat the same dead horse but it’s inescapable.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

I wrote a glowing review for The Last Guardian a while back. That game was an emotional powerhouse and I spent a lot of time with it hunting for trophies. So when I started Rime I noticed the similarities instantly. The character in both is a small boy, they both wear white cloaks, both climb old stone ruins, both use green mossy vines to climb up, both attract blue butterflies, both wake up in a strange place not knowing where or how they got there, both have flashbacks that fill in their backstory, both get an animal friend and both get a giant companion who smashes down obstacles. There are just so many similarities it’s uncanny. It feels as if someone working for team ICO quit during the decade The Last Guardian was in development and decided to make their own version of that game.

Now that being said most of the similarities are just aesthetic details and both games offer completely different experiences. While The Last Guardian is a dark and emotional roller coaster that leaves you feeling as brutalized as the characters by the end, Rime is a much more gentle game. When you realize at the end you’re actually dead it barely registers. I mean watching your father saying good bye and letting you go is sad but it mostly falls flat. The emotional impact isn’t there. It doesn’t seem earned. In essence the story seems to be more like Journey than the Last Guardian. But even Journey had a more rewarding and emotional payout even with its ethereal storytelling.

Here the Sum of the Parts Offers Nothing More

Over the last few weeks I’ve tried to put my finger on why Rime wasn’t emotionally resonant. I still can’t come up with a reason. The game was interesting. It has simple platforming mechanics and a shout feature like Journey to activate objects and unlock things. The puzzles are simple yet interesting enough to satisfy my needs. The levels themselves are fairly large and they offer a lot of variety. From beautiful cell shaded beaches, to underwater caves, to flooded temples and mythic ruins. The most stunning level by far is the last rain soaked level. The rain and the wetness add a level of realism to the visual that thus far looked so cartoonish.

The gameplay varies from level to level too. At first you simply run around an island looking for objects to activate opening your path forward. Eventually you reach a desert area with a giant bird circling over head. Using the ruins and shadows you hide from its watchful eyes or else it swoops down and snatches you. You’ll then enter underwater areas where you need to interact with air bubbles to survive. Later on you come across areas of darkness inhabited by what appear to be dark souls that will begin to attack you. You’ll need to use a ball of light energy to disperse them. Later still you find an ancient assembly line and assemble a giant robot that’ll smash down barricades and lead you out of the ruins. Finally you end up in a rain soaked maze surrounding a temple.

Bottom Line

Rime is a hard game to peg. Like I said above it’s a good game. It’s just not a great game. There are a half dozen or so other games it borrows from which are all better games. But Rime is still a beautiful game to explore. If you’ve already played Journey or The Last Guardian and enjoyed them, Rime might be worthy of your attention. As an indy title it’s cheaper than a regular game and now that its several months old you can probably find it at a discount. For anyone who doesn’t like indy games or disliked Journey or The Last Guardian you’d best stay clear of this game.

How does it rate as a...		Other games in that category...
3rd Person	B	Metal Gear Solid 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Open Level	B+	Dishonored 2, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us
Indy	A	Journey, Child of Light, Soma
Artistic	A	Firewatch, Abzu, Flower
Fantasy	B	Bloodborne, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, The Last Guardian
Adventure	B+	Life is Strange, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Rise of the Tomb Raider

These ratings are based on games I have played at the time of this posting. Additions and Alterations made to game ratings and rankings after this date will not be reflected in the written review. For a fully updated list of games and game rankings please visit Rebel Gaming Canada’s BIG GAMES LIST.

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