Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

There's a lot of negative things you could say about Fragile Dreams. You could say the combat system is broken and antiquated. You could say it's too short. Or that there's too much back-tracking. It's true. And maybe these things can be the straw for a lot of gamers.

It's a funny thing though. On a system that prioritizes gameplay over presentation, here's a game that takes an opposite approach. It says, "We have this dark, creepy world for you to be a part of. You don't have to level up, or even fight many of the enemies. Just let your heart experience what we created."

The fights don't matter. You can walk past 90% of the enemies you encounter without any consequences. And yet, watching the cutscenes back to back would do the game a disservice. In a sort of Metroid Prime type move, you learn the world's history through exploration. Through absorbing embedded memories in items you run across, or reading weathered newspaper clippings. It all comes together and begins to make sense the more you soak in.

The game conveys a very powerful and very specific feeling. Not only through the main character, but through those embedded memories and through the environment itself. A feeling of resigned loneliness. In fact, Seto seems to be the only one whose loneliness isn't resigned. He fights against it when the rest of the world gave in.

The soundtrack takes full advantage of this story element too. There are very few moments in the game with actual music. You're given some during combat, but by and large, for the rest of the game, it's silent. Deadly silent, except for the sounds of your own feet. When you are treated to music though, it's a heartbreaking melody that will stick with me for a long time.

Fragile Dreams is not your standard game. It's one of a kind and I think as long as you're willing to open your heart to these characters and this world, you'll find an awful lot to love here.