The Fall is a 2014 puzzle-solving-sidescroller developed by Over the Moon Games.
You play as ARID, an artificial intelligence in charge of a high-tech combat suit, tasked with escorting its unconscious user to safety.
The Fall’s gameplay is reminiscient of point-and-click-adventure games, consisting of solving puzzles mainly through utilizing previously found items, which in turn allow access to new areas.
It is the first episode of an as of 2019 unfinished trilogy, with Part 2 having been released in 2018.
Right from the start, the large focus put on ambience is apparent. Its dark industrial atmosphere does a good job in building immersion, as well as its little, contained story, taking a look at utilitarianism, and how far one is willing to go, to achieve the necessary.
ARID is an intriguing character with pleasing voiceacting, lending an air of credibility to its world. Further, she makes one look forward to the next social interaction, in order to learn more about her. This serves as a good motivator for solving puzzles and advancing forward. These puzzles are generally reasonable and satisfying to complete. A few are borderline cryptic, almost detached from reality; but these are the exception. It works well as a puzzle game, offering a pleasurable sense of achievement.
Visually, the high contrast between crushed blacks and saturated neon colors is charming eyecandy. Unlike many similarly styled games, the deliberately dark aesthetic does not lose its appeal and become boring. The mood conveyed by the graphics is represented in the story, creating a cohesive unit.
The soundtrack is nothing to write home about, rather taking on a supportive role, reinforcing the element of desolation. As such, it does a good job, too.
The Fall is short, clocking in at around 3 hours. This sadly leads to an abrupt ending. Too abrupt, robbing one’s suspension of disbelief. Sadly, throughout the game, this suspension is seemingly on Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride. It’s built up by the fantastic atmosphere, and then robbed many times by its horrible controls. Turning around, jumping, the mere act of walking; these are all a drag.
The Fall also includes a combat element. It could be called forgettable, if its implementation wasn’t so horrendously bad. Calling it a mere shame would be doing a disservice to homicide victims all over the world. Cumbersome all-around. In its clunky state, an exclusion would have presented itself more rational.
Nonetheless, The Fall can impress with character and clever puzzles. It speaks to a specific market: fans of point-and-click, with not-too-high expectations in terms of depth, looking for an immersive experience and which can handle the gawky controls.