As the story is almost fully delivered by the interactions between characters, great care has been taken by Ninja Theory to create some of the most lifelike character animations that I have ever seen. Never before have I been so convinced that a pile of polygons and textures were feeling emotions of anger, fear or surprise and for that Ninja Theory truly deserve a massive amount of credit.
The interactions between characters in the game really are the star of the show and once you are done playing through the seven to eight hours that it takes to complete, you will almost have forgotten about the flaws in the combat or platforming and only be left with a feeling that you really grew to know and like the characters involved.
All of this is further strengthened by great writing and exceptional, believable voice acting to go with the already stellar facial animations and visuals, making Enslaved a game that is light on solid gameplay but very heavy on story and characters.
Conclusion:
Between the platforming, puzzles and combat the gameplay elements of Enslaved come across as a little weak and sadly seem to miss out on their full potential. It’s a shame really as the story, characters and accompanying visuals feel top notch.
This is one of the rare occasions where the characters will keep you completely engaged with the way that they develop and interact with one another and will lead you to genuinely care about their roles in the story and their relationships with each other.
This is however a game, and not an animated movie and so I must treat it as such. I do however hope that if a sequel is made and the gameplay itself is tweaked and improved, we could be looking at a massively popular franchise in future.
Scoring:
Gameplay: 8.0
Casual platforming, “same-ey” combat, mediocre puzzles and so-so boss-fights do enough to keep the game fun, but it is obvious that there is room for a lot of improvement in the gameplay department.
Presentation: 9.5
Enslaved’s breathtaking levels look great yet can be seen in other games as well, but the high level of quality in the character’s animations specifically had me truly convinced that they were more than just video game characters. Even Mass Effect doesn’t keep up on that front and it was enough to award this game with a very high rating for its visual presentation.
Sound: 9.3
The best and most believable voice acting I have ever heard in a video game, bar none. A few accents slip out here and there, but considering the game’s setting, it almost works. Soundtrack does its job and effects are on par with everything else out there.
Value: 8.0
Enslaved will only take you 7-8 hours to complete, with little reason to have a second go. That said, for gamers who are looking for a story driven adventure with great character development, those few hours will be worth the money.
Overall: 8.5 (not an average)
Enslaved is in many ways much more than the some of its parts. As a video game, it suffers from weak gameplay elements overall and could be skipped by many. However, for anyone wanting an adventure coupled with a decent story and immensely engaging characters, Enslaved is an easy recommendation.
[Reviewed on Xbox 360]
Last Updated: October 11, 2010
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Uberutang
October 11, 2010 at 13:03
Really enjoying it at the moment, and a very pretty game indeed.
AC!D
October 11, 2010 at 13:31
Two things i really hated in this game:
– The hand holding for platforming which made the game less fun and challenging.
– The graphics. I thought they were a mixed bad. The up close detail was brilliant but ruined by some very slow texture loading in the background in cutscenes and when you moved the camera around during gameplay. It really does take you out of this beautiful world when you have to sit and watch textures and details load in the background everywhere you turn to face your camera and especially in the cut scenes. I really hate this in most Unreal engine games. I dont want them to use this engine for DMC5. I wish they would use the Heavenly sword engine. The second thing was the draw distances which just looked ugly compared to the up close detail. Also the later levels werent as impressive as the first couple in the jungle.
Its basically the same story as Heavenly Sword. The story, animation and voice acting are fantastic but Ninja Theory really need to work on their gameplay and a lot of bugs in their games we could do without to be considered a AAA developer in my book.
Overall id give the game a 8/10 and i have to mention chapter 14 which was an amazing spectacle.
Nick de Bruyne
October 11, 2010 at 14:37
Which console did you play it on? I played on 360 and there was some texture loading here and there but nothing too rough, which apparently barely happens at all on the PS3 version.
AC!D
October 11, 2010 at 15:12
I played the PS3 version. Its not game breaking but its still irritating and only seems to happen on Unreal engine games.
AC!D
October 11, 2010 at 15:16
Not to mention the freaking bloom. Does every Unreal game have to have so much bloom. Man i wish we could get some new middleware. Its a pity ID Tech 5 is eclusive to Zenimax now.
Nick de Bruyne
October 12, 2010 at 00:38
Not every Unreal Engine game uses bloom, although I will admit that a lot UE3 games tend to have similar looks to them, especially in terms of high contrast lighting effects.
I enjoyed the bright colourful graphics for a change though
Cleric
October 12, 2010 at 10:16
Thanks for the good review.
So, voice acting better than Uncharted 2’s?
AC!D
October 12, 2010 at 10:20
I also enjoy games with colour. I just personally dont like this engine. I hope ppl start licensing the Crysis engine so we can see what thats made of.
I mean seriously can you honestly say you would rather see DMC5 on Unreal Engine? I cant imagine we are going to get even close to 60FPS second and the tearing and backrground texture loading? Comon Ninja Theory should have used the Capcom framework engine or the Heavenly sword engine if it isnt Sony owned. Both are miles better.