"Everybody's Gone to the Rapture" is, by it's title alone, already outside of the box. The story is scattershot, (intentionally - it leaves it up to the viewer/player), and mysterious. As a player, you're given some simple instructions; 'follow the light' and 'listen to the radio'. Doing both of these things help flesh out the weirder elements of the story. Represented only by orbs and flashes of light, the characters and voice acting are incredible. A ton of emotion, characterization and connection are displayed masterfully. The story too, while not all that original, (it runs like the Illegitimate child of 'The Leftovers' and the 2011 horror film 'The Darkest Hour'), is well written and the fragmented storyline is able to keep the mystery going without alienating the player. All of that being said - the 'gameplay' itself is atrocious.
As the unnamed main character, (are you a survivor? A part of the light? Or nobody at all?), you're forced to move at a snails pace, (the hidden control of R2 to 'run' is also more like the pace of a running snail), and if you lose track of the orb of light that only occasionally serves as a guide, you'll spend literally ten minutes walking up and down the same road, at a slower pace than real time. It would be nice to explore the detailed, interesting and (surprisingly), unique interiors, if it didn't take fifteen minutes to walk over to a house just to figure out it's inaccessible. You can only interact with a minuscule selection of things, (radios, tv's, a few doors, and for some reason, light switches). Your only options are forwards, backwards, and interact. Some games have excelled with this minimalist style, ('Journey' is a fantastic example). Here it comes off as poor design, and absolutely aggrovating. You don't really 'play' "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture," you pretty much just watch it, with the added bonus of being a bad camera operator. I would have much rather just have watched the whole game as a film. The visuals, acting, writing and creative choices are that good. It's a shame the gameplay destroys any enjoyment some would get out of it. It's 90 minutes worth of story stretched out to 5 HOURS because of the pace you can walk. It's absolutely brutal.
I'd be happy with this just being a bad game - it's not - but it's shortcomings ruin it, and that makes it so much worse.
As the unnamed main character, (are you a survivor? A part of the light? Or nobody at all?), you're forced to move at a snails pace, (the hidden control of R2 to 'run' is also more like the pace of a running snail), and if you lose track of the orb of light that only occasionally serves as a guide, you'll spend literally ten minutes walking up and down the same road, at a slower pace than real time. It would be nice to explore the detailed, interesting and (surprisingly), unique interiors, if it didn't take fifteen minutes to walk over to a house just to figure out it's inaccessible. You can only interact with a minuscule selection of things, (radios, tv's, a few doors, and for some reason, light switches). Your only options are forwards, backwards, and interact. Some games have excelled with this minimalist style, ('Journey' is a fantastic example). Here it comes off as poor design, and absolutely aggrovating. You don't really 'play' "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture," you pretty much just watch it, with the added bonus of being a bad camera operator. I would have much rather just have watched the whole game as a film. The visuals, acting, writing and creative choices are that good. It's a shame the gameplay destroys any enjoyment some would get out of it. It's 90 minutes worth of story stretched out to 5 HOURS because of the pace you can walk. It's absolutely brutal.
I'd be happy with this just being a bad game - it's not - but it's shortcomings ruin it, and that makes it so much worse.