An underrated gem.
The graphics in Primal rank among the best in the PS2. They stand alongside ZOE 2, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico and MGS3 as the best the system has to offer in that particular department. The storyline consists of a young goth-rock chick, who goes on a mission to save her boyfriend in a parallel universe inhabited by demons, portals and a 3 foot gargoyle that is your only companion for the rest of the game. The story while not incredible, is refreshing, considering the bland and uninteresting plots that frequent The Majority Of Adventure games on the PS2.
The voice acting is decent. The main protagonist is quite possibly, the epitome of a cliched, disgruntled, 17 year old female with sarcastic remarks that although try to be funny, are just stupid. The guy who voices Scree on the other hand is very good, and all the other characters do a decent job. The musical score is very good as well, filled with choirs, violins and the necessary crescendos, as to give players the epic feel of the game.
The combat system is fun/boring. In the beginning of the game, it is quite nice pulling off the bloody finish and seeing the desecrating results on various enemies. But after awhile, it gets repetitive... very repetitive. In the game you get to transform into various demon forms that have different powers and the like. But I must say, that the swimming sequences, are atrocious. The camera behaves well, except when you go underwater, which then they get to be a nuisance. Also the game lets you take control of Scree, a 3 foot gargoyle that does all the puzzle thinking in the game, making for an interesting character swapping that isn't seen that often in adventure games. And prepare for backtracking, a looot of backtracking.
Thankfully, I am a patient gamer. Primal gave everything I need in an adventure game: Entertainment, Violence, Nice Puzzles, Good story, Great music and a very long experience. One of the most underrated games in the PS2 library. If you crave an entertaining package for 5 bucks, go look for this one. While not perfect, it is still quite good. 8/10.