Black The Fall PS4 Review

Black The Fall is set in a bleak communist future, where a lone protagonist takes it upon themself to set out and free their fellow kind of their shackles, facing obstacles and danger in order to achieve their goal. I say ‘lone protagonist’, because it’s never made clear as to whether the main character you play as is an android, or human, not that it would change the message either way. The main character has a light above their head attached to a pack on their back, which enables their bosses to control them (meaning they could be an android), though the main character eventually picks up said item that can then be attached to their own wrist, in turn enabling them to control the other characters around them and manipulating the environment to their own advantage.

The game is set in what can only be described as a factory; at times you’ll have to use some stealth skills to manoeuvre past certain places, and will even need to use your dog-like robot companion, who joins you on your mission a bit later, to distract security cameras. Other times you’ll have to slip past the tougher factory workers who are loyal to their communist cause, and if they spot you sneaking around they will point to your direction, resulting in a one-hit kill.

A platformer game with some puzzle elements, the puzzles aren’t the most taxing, though you may find that for some you’ll have to resort to watching a walkthrough. The puzzles are the type where you believe you have solved them, but then find you need to think just that little bit extra outside the box in order to progress. As mentioned, the character picks up an item that attaches to their wrist, and this is integrated into the puzzles. Basically all you do to use this item is point at what you want to control – another person/android or your robot companion – and then point to an area that you want them to interact with. There are points where you will need to press buttons to open something, or turn a wheel to move platforms or some other obstacle. You’ll also find yourself up against some huge Ed209-style robots that shoot as soon as they see you, making for some tense moments, though these robots perhaps could have been put to better use, and used in more puzzles.

Puzzles are done well and each one offers some variation; the gameplay is trial and error, though it’s not so tough that you’ll find frustration setting in from trying to get through an area for the umpteenth time. Thankfully the game doesn’t outstay its welcome and is on the short side, though at £11.99 you may not feel as though you have been given much bang for your buck.

I can’t say this is a game that blew me away. The animations are smooth, there is a decent little story that is told through visual means – as the character runs through the environments, there are details in the background that convey the story – and overall it manages to convey the message that it wants to, so in that respect the game is successful. But it’s something that has been done a million times before, and whilst Black The Fall is still intriguing to play, it’s not exactly going to leave an everlasting impression.