RiME | Xbox One

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Following cancellation concerns and delays, RiME’s blend of puzzling and adventure finally makes its way to our screens; but does it earn a place alongside contemporaries like Journey, Ico and Zelda?

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by
​Rob
​Holt

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@acousticmagic

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Developer:
Tequila Works
Publisher:
​Grey Box Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Players: 1

RiME puts you in the shoes, toga and red cape of a young boy washed ashore during a terrible storm. Luckily for you, the island is the kind of tropical paradise many of us dream of; unluckily, though, you’ll need to explore the terrain and solve a shed load of puzzles, so there's no chance of kicking back with a pina colada.
 
From the outset it’s hard not to be utterly enthralled by the stunning, gorgeous art style. Think Wind Waker HD crossed with the aforementioned Journey and you get the picture: sumptuous, deep colours and cartoony cel-shaded animations rule the roost. Standing atop a tower looking over the Mediterranean-esque blue waters as Seagulls fly by is a particular highlight, along with watching grass sway in the breeze as a gigantic tree blooms in front of you. These two are in the first hour, and we’re pleased to report that the game keeps the wonderful visual bombardment up throughout its entirety.
 
It’s obvious that developer Tequila Works really focussed on making the game visually unique. The closing stages of the story boast almost lifelike torrential rain fused with the stylised characters and game world to really take your breath away. Lighting effects in underground levels only add to the wonder: this combined with the haunting score (more on that later) create a legitimately ethereal experience.

Unfortunately though, they seem to have forgotten about two things visually: ensuring the game runs smoothly, and the hero’s character model. The latter is especially strange, as all the enemies and NPCs (from foxes, to pigs, to sentinels, to screaming deadites) are gorgeous, whereas he really lacks fine detail. This can be forgiven, of course, but the shocking framerate simply cannot. To have such ravishing locales ruined by regular huffing and puffing frame drops is a real shame, especially since it must have been an obvious issue.

With all that style, is there any room left for substance? Well, the story itself is fairly basic; you're washed ashore, trying to find out why you’ve ended up there. At the end of each stage you run towards a giant keyhole shaped light: walk into it and you’re transported to a new island to uncover new parts of the story.

The cutscenes that play out in these stage breaks give some colour to the story, building a mystery around the recurring, distant figure who also happens to be wearing a red cape. In all honesty, you’ll see the ending coming from a mile off, but Tequila Works should be applauded for tackling the subjects of loss, death and recovery without using any form of dialogue.

Tequila Works should be applauded for tackling the subjects of loss, death and recovery without using any form of dialogue.

RiME is a puzzle-adventure, and the gameplay truly reflects that. The journey revolves heavily around vertical traversal, solving varying puzzles along the way. These puzzles range from platforming tasks to activate switches (you sing to them) or to reach new areas, pushing and pulling items, collecting orbs to open doors/awaken the sentinels and more.

It’s here that the Zelda influence really becomes more of a parody though; you’ll feel like you’ve played through these before, which, in combination with their relative ease (just follow the obvious clues and hints or the helpful fox) leaves little in the way of challenge. One of the stages is actually one huge puzzle quest, which drained the life from us as it slowly moved to a close, getting in the way of the story and wide-eyed-wonder (add the watching-paint-dry slow loading screens to this pile!​).

Although the puzzle element of the game is lacking in originality, we still found ourselves enjoying RiME'sgameplay on the whole. This is largely in debt to the elegant visuals, but also down to a bold choice to create a combat-less game world, in which you'll simply jump, roll and sing. This really does help to convey the story of a child lost, trying to make sense of life and friendship and loss.
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​This sweet tale is underpinned by an absolutely triumphant score. There’s soaring strings, twinkling pianos and ambient noise that all sway and rise like the mighty in-game ocean. The way the music swells when you near the end of a stage is a trick that is definitely cheesy, but my God is it effective. Running up or down huge stone spiral stairs whilst violins and cellos surge is wholly engrossing, even if it does give more than a wink to Ico.

So, in summary, RiME is a difficult game to really put a number on. For every fantastic moment, there’s a technical issue like the infuriating camera shifts during platforming or a huge frame drop. The game begs to be played multiple times - to find all the collectables and positively explore every nook and cranny - but will most bother? At five to ten hours in its initial playthrough, it’s a great choice for the gamer with limited time, but is the £25-30 price point too rich a prospect? You’ll have to figure these questions out for yourselves, chums, but if you want my two penneth: get it when the price comes down.
 
Pros
 

• Undeniably gorgeous art style
• Beautiful, haunting music
• A perfect adventure for folks with limited gaming time
• Dreamy game world
• Easy to understand puzzles
• Lack of combat is a breath of fresh air

 
Cons
 

• Regularly stuttering framerate
• Camera angle in climbing sections
• Leans too heavily on its influences
• Puzzles are often long-winded
• Long loading screens

 
Score 6/10