ETHER One

Ether One could've been a very solid game, but I feel like it's let down by some questionable design choices. As a 'Restorer', puzzles revolve around this idea of recreating memories based on information in the general vicinity. Most puzzles can be completed with sound logic if you explore carefully and read widely, though there are a handful of puzzles that feel poorly designed and which could use some better signposting. I also feel like the game would've benefited if puzzles were self-contained rather than requiring different items from across the map to help minimise the amount of backtracking. The 1 item limit is another mechanic I'm not a fan of, as having to teleport back and forth to check previous notes or pick up collected items is an exercise in tedium. It would've been much more convenient to simply have a portable inventory for items and notes.

The game certainly has a nice atmosphere to it. The music is rather nice, the environments are very comforting. Even the very basic graphics kinda create its own unique vibe. But the gameplay is a real slog to get through. The protagonist is extremely slow, you have to constantly press shift button which is very annoying and tiresome. Being able to pick up and carry around only one single item is a ridiculously lazy way of padding out the game's length. For christ's sake, why won't our protagonist fetch a bloody bag? Artificial mechanics like these are the real mood killers for me. I know it's a game and there are always certain conventions you have to just accept in games, but that's a bit much in my opinion. All in all, yet another example of a cool but poorly executed concept, as it's often the case with these walking simulators.

This game is trying to do something worthwhile so if you are interested you should give it a try. However I feel it is mechanically unsatisfying, narratively it constantly break immersion for me because it unwillingly draws attention to how low-cost the production of this game was and each scene only gives the hint of what it tries to achieve, you have to imagine it differently, like if it were handled by a better director.

Imagine a Point n' Click game, but in 3D, where you do your pixel hunting (there is no hot spots key, and no way to guess what is interactive or not) by crawling like a sedated slug on clutches through gigantic corridors and billions of empty rooms. Now that your picture the stage, remove the inventory you imagined. You can carry an impressive amount of 1 item at a time. One; you read that right. If you pick up something else, you'll swap. Now think for a second about all the backtracking this brilliant concept will allow you to enjoy. I'm sure you can't wait. And you can bet that mazes will be involved. By the way, there is a manual save button, but it's grayed out when you need it. It's got to be one of the worst User Interfaces ever written. And I do mean ever.

I found this game extremely boring, I found the pacing of the game to be really slow. I play games to have fun, I do understand the meaning, but I am reviewing a game ,not a movie.