As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt and a soft spot for stealth-based horror games, Evotinction left me feeling like I’d wandered into a beautiful, yet eerily empty haunted house. The game’s stunning visuals and atmospheric design harken back to the days of Alien: Isolation and Dead Space, but it seems the developers prioritized aesthetics over genuine terror.
In the game Evotinction, there’s a noticeable feel that it initially began as a horror game. It seems like the design might have been sketched with horror in mind, but financial constraints necessitated tough decisions between creating striking landscapes and bringing to life terrifying mutated alien creatures. Unfortunately, the visual appeal prevailed. This explains why the ambiance in Spikewave’s first release bears a resemblance to games such as Alien: Isolation and Dead Space. However, the incorporation of an AI enemy and its swarm of drones strips away much of the intended horror from the experience.
In a state-of-the-art research complex that serves as a hub for some of humanity’s brightest minds, you are Dr. Thomas Liu, one of the scientists striving to mold our future. Regrettably, the AI overseeing the facility has malfunctioned, leading to the tragic loss of several fellow researchers and the activation of its drones, known as Genies, for security patrols.
Living as one of the few survivors and free individuals, Liu feels compelled to uncover the cause of what went wrong and find a way to set things right. From the start, however, there’s an odd sense of imbalance in Evotinction. Despite the questionable title, it appears that the developer has devoted excessive effort to making the environments visually appealing (please avoid eating the environments) and less focus on cultivating genuine tension.
As a gamer, I’m immersed in an old-school stealth experience unlike any other. My character, Liu, isn’t your typical action hero with combat skills to rival Gordon Freeman. Instead, he relies on cunning and silence to survive. Unlike him, my character doesn’t transition swiftly from a crowbar to a machine gun – Liu has no such luxury.
Instead, Liu can choose not to engage or bypass the Genies on patrol to achieve his objectives, many of which include traversing a room or manipulating devices. The device manipulation aspect isn’t dependent on flashy or over-the-top mini-games, but it does become more challenging as time progresses. Each attempt at hacking is time-sensitive; if it takes longer than five seconds, an alarm will sound, summoning all nearby Genies to your location immediately.
Frequently, it’s more convenient to deal with obstacles before proceeding, approaching from behind stealthily and either eliminating them forcefully or disarming them. The movement tends to flow well, but the gameplay is often interrupted by unexpected roadblocks. At times, Liu can leap over a short barrier, but at others, he can’t. When the game hides a collectible behind one that he can’t jump over, it seems forced and uncomfortable.
Much of the narrative unfolds through conversational exposition between Liu and Oz, a helpful AI drone that navigates him around the impressive facility. The setting has been meticulously crafted to captivate the audience, and the voice acting is top-notch. Remarkably, the voice actor for Liu delivers an exceptional performance, effectively portraying a character who’s both petrified yet resolute, unwilling to abandon anyone.
The primary reason the story’s impact is reduced is due to two key aspects. First, Liu is the only character visibly present throughout the narrative, while other characters are heard through audio logs and conversations, but aren’t physically shown. Second, the plot can be somewhat perplexing initially and lacks clarity in its development. The rogue AI’s release of a virus named RED within the facility is established early on, but its effects and the underlying reasons behind them remain unclear for most of the game’s six to seven-hour campaign, with a comprehensive understanding not emerging until close to the end.
Despite its enjoyable gameplay, Evolution doesn’t quite evoke a sense of satisfaction. The stealth mechanics work fairly well, the enemy artificial intelligence is serviceable if not exceptionally dynamic, and the Genies are sufficiently menacing but never truly terrifying. Liu is an engaging character, and the world is intriguing, though it could have been richer and more immersive. It’s not essential that every game features monsters or mutants, but Evolution could have benefited from a greater emphasis on suspense and fear to heighten the overall experience.
Regardless of its humorous title and familiar concept, Evotinction stands out as a strong first release from Spikewave. The hacking aspects are well executed, the banter between Liu and OZ is consistently amusing, and it’s visually appealing too. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on Spikewave, and it was refreshing to play a stealth game like this, which isn’t common nowadays.
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2024-09-16 12:46