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- Digital Tribe
- Digital Tribe
- Digital Tribe
- Digital Tribe
Broken Reality
Released On: Nov 29, 2018
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
8.2
All Platforms
An outstanding debut and one of the weirdest games I laid my hands on. [02/2019, p.59]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 User Ratings
8.2
80% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
10% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 User Ratings
8.2
80% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
10% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Sorry, sorry, so so sorry, this game is a **** masterpiece in my opinion. I'm very happy that this game seems to be widely enjoyed by those that play it, but I'm so sad that it seems to fly so under the radar. This is a game I find myself thinking of several times a week, and seems to be tailor-made for someone of my sensibilities. A little background on my obsession with this work: I was raised in a house that had a family computer in the den, and spent a large portion of my early childhood exploring a different kind of internet. This game captures that in such a genuine and loving way it fascinates me. The journey you go on through this game is very short and sweet, and the locales will stick in your mind, each being a unique flavor of vapor and synthwave aesthetics. If you love listening to music that makes it feel like you're drowning inside a fountain at a Kmart, you'll love this game. Cannot recommend this enough.
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PC
amazing game i love vaporwave music, stage, and story is very nice, maybe the best vaporwave game
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PC
This could have very easily become just another pretentious indie game with nothing to offer but visual spectacle, but it has instead exceeded every expectation I had going into it. With a surprisingly long game length, beautiful and unique visuals, and a deceptively large amount of depth in its exploration and puzzle mechanics, this game is far from just another ****, self-indulgent indie walking-simulator. Heavily borrowing from the Vaporwave culture, the game crafts a world which despite its inspirations actually feels very original and is very memorable. Though I understand how the Vaporwave influence could very easily turn people off the game, I would strongly urge them to try the game regardless, because the game avoids two common factors found in a lot of Vaporwave culture/content: Pretentiousness, and what is basically a lot of stolen intellectual property (I understand that Vaporwave can use "re-contextualization" to its own advantages, but it often comes off as lazy in my opinion). I would also recommend it even if you’re new to Vaporwave, as it clearly explores a lot of themes raised in Vaporwave media and takes many inspirations from other Vaporwave artists anyways. In a way the whole game is like a tribute to Vaporwave itself, and I think its easy to grasp gameplay and simple yet effective story make it perfect for ‘newcomers’ and ‘veterans’ alike.
The story is simple, but well realised. The themes raised are consistent throughout the game, and is overall pretty effective in what it sets out to accomplish, effectively using its Vaporwave roots as an inspiration for its message and topics raised. It has a colourful cast of characters, and clever level design that varies consistently from each area to the next - keeping the game fresh despite its simplicity. The game offers a unique take on the Vaporwave art style that is utilised very well in its video game context, as well as an expansive and varied soundtrack which adds even more personality to the unique areas.
If I had to define it with a genre, I’d say Broken Reality is a first-person, puzzle exploration game with an emphasis on atmosphere and collecting things. The game has you use six different pieces of equipment to traverse an array of environments and solve different puzzles. Finding upgrades for the items as you progress throughout the game gives these items new uses and also allows you to re-visit previous areas and find new secrets and other entirely new areas. The different equipment is all varied and offers unique uses, and all the items are needed throughout the game – sometimes in ways more obvious than others. The open world-structure and its heavy emphasis on collecting items reminds me of collectathon games like Banjo Kazooie and early open-world games Metroid with its effective use of backtracking. And while the actual puzzle solving for the most part is fairly casual, later parts of the game genuinely push the mechanics to the absolute limit in terms of complexity and difficulty, and it make for one of the most enjoyable parts of the game - which is saying a lot.
You can tell the creators genuinely love Vaporwave because they've clearly taken influence from some of the greatest artists of the genre throughout the entire game, and also have some tributes and references here and there. Despite its heavy influences the game genuinely stands out as one of the greatest pieces of Vaporwave media to date. There’s a lot this game does to make it stand out from its counterparts, many of my expectations were not met – and I found myself surprised quite a few times by very stand out moments and elements of the game. I can’t go into a whole lot of detail about the story without spoiling it, it's an overall pretty simple story - but it’s definitely engaging and helps make the world you explore much more enjoyable to explore. It also makes for one of the greatest endings in videogames. So if you can justify the price you can have yourself a fantastic time for about 5-7 hours with a great and underrated little gem.
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PC
Summary A humorous adventure set in a 3D parody of the internet. Diverse puzzles, beautiful worlds, friends, experiences, upgrades and more, await you those who log on!
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Nov 29, 2018
Developer:
- Dynamic Media Triad
Publisher: Digital Tribe
Genres: