Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - Colorful, immersive fused with humor!
Being a future take of the ancient Chinese story Journey to the West, Ninja Theory have done a great job at recreating the story to suit a futuristic setting.
One of the major standout aspects of this game is the use of bright, vibrant colors, which is not seen all that much in apocalyptic settings. Green nature environments, bright blue sky and red markings all over the levels mixed with the theme of broken, destroyed buildings are breathtaking.
Game-play is a bit of a button mash festival, especially when the number of enemies increases throughout story progression. The main weapon players will use is a staff capable of quick and heavy melee attacks with the capability of shooting orbs which heavily impacts game-play.
Enslaved makes great use of the helping AI 'Trip' with her special abilities which can be selected from an order menu. It really adds to the game-play, and can prove vital to completing a section. She does require a bit of babysitting, however it only adds to the relation between the two.
The story builds as protagonist Monkey, who after being enslaved by Trip, your partner throughout the game, starts to have feelings for her. This builds emotional responses to certain situations and changes the feel of the game.
One negative which can be picked on is the sudden change in humor when the character Pigsy is introduced. A lot of jokes and messing around is seen at this point. This transition was not smooth enough and made is very obvious. It does however pace itself nicely once again.
All in all this game is a truly underrated success! From the characters to the voice actors, game-play mechanics, level design, visual awe to the story progression.
- shadowKILLAA