Guest Review: The Experiment

The Experiment keeps the player at a distance, but in a most unusual - and quite entertaining - way.

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Woah, that actualy seems like a really interesting game. The concept sounds brilliant.

If you liked that, you might be interested in Lifeline, a similar PS2 game, but with you directing the character via voice command. Unfortunately, it was much less successful in execution, mainly due to the technological limitations of voice recognition.

I've been trying the game after getting the demo, a week ago.
Put simply, I hate adventure/puzzle games.
I also hate games largely relying on special case design.
It is a typical PC game.

But this one really has an unique take on the staples, and I was desperate when seeing this game not get more reviews. I was looking for some different stuff to play, and remembered that one which really intrigued me some time ago, so I went back and made the purchase.

It is not an action game in any sense of word, so to enjoy it, you need to relax, play it alone.

What really convinced me to buy it came when I had to drive that robot in the demo.
It was a very primitive machine, compared to the legions of mechs and spider stuff you usually get in your average game. There, it was nothing more than a square box on four wheels and most basic mechanical arm.
And it was incredible, using the cameras to move it around, it really created a whole solid and realistic sensation.

Again, it's a good thing that this game gets a review. From what I've seen in the demo, it really deserves to be explored.

The user interface appears to be "cumbersome", but it's just a question of getting used to it, which happens rather fast, and it could have not been made differently.
You can be sure that many other studios would have gone with those wizbang flashy CSI-style interfaces and whatever rubbish that looks cool but makes no sense, but here, its austerity and logic adds an immense level of credibility to the situation and the mood, all the better for the immersion.

The whole game mechanic breaks the fourth wall altogether in a nuclear fashion.

I might pick it up, it sounds like a lot of fun

Arbre:

It is a typical PC game.
I also hate games largely relying on special case design.

It's exactly the possibility of having unique design and control interfaces that makes this a great PC game. It'd be simply impossible to replicate the "feel" of The Experiment on a console, since the general assumption is that you sit on a couch in the living room, a setup quite unlikely in the typical camera bank of a ship's security workstation.

Incidentally, it's where they don't take advantage of a keyboard's presence that disappoints me regarding the UI. The game begs for customized hotkeys and all the fun things you can do to make a PC's interface your own. Even an in-game notepad or journal program would make the game go down much more smoothly.

In any case, by "cumbersome" I meant that the UI doesn't try to make the game easy to manage. The puzzles are already hard enough by themselves, but being unable to properly set up your viewing windows and the inability of the game to properly follow Lea's movements make it unnecessarily frustrating for the less patient gamer.

Excellent review, and I'm very much intrigued by the premise of the game. I look forward to reading more of your work- do you have any other intriguingly hidden gems to share with us in the future?

I found the game concept also refreshingly unique; but the chick just walks too damn slow. It takes five minutes just to cross a room. Later on the areas get bigger and it just gets worse and worse. Then you have to backtrack. A lot.