Personally, after enjoying this installment immensely, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what's next, and sincerely hope that between this title and the impending Gabriel Knight remake that we can well and truly see Jensen getting back to doing what she does best on a more regular basis.
Moebius: Empire Rising bears a resemblance to an expensive item, like the ones its protagonist values. While initially it seems extremely valuable, even though it comes in a not so beautiful package, in the end it appears to be of not so high value. It's not fake by any means, it's just that it does not correspond to the promises its fame and figure had created.
The first game in years which I enjoyed playing and where I did not constantly need to use walkthroughs to progress. The storyline behind the moebius theory fit really well with the gameplay, and I loved getting to know the different historic figures.
Even though a lot of people claim that the 3D graphics aren't the best of the best. You'll get too **** up in the story to be worrying about the graphics. Besides what are we rating this game for? The budget or the quality?
I recommend this game for everyone who wants to take a break from the mainstream shooters and is ready to try out something totally new and creative.
I really don't get why there are so many negative reviews. Like it's the worst adventure game you've played. I think it's one of the best adventure games I've played. I mean not just some mediocre point 'n' click adventure games like Secret Files 2 (There was even joke about this game in Goodbye Deponia). Somebody says that it's not a Gabriel Knight, that the plot is bad and that characters are awful. But those reviewers are totally subjective. They need to resigh themselves that this game isn't Gabriel Knight, there's a different atmosphere, different setting, and a more complexed character. I really enjoyed the game, the voice of Malachi and himself reminds me Sherlock from Sherlock BBC (his thoughts and deductions also similar to the show). The whole theory of Moebius and the search for the people's biographies is really original as multiple plot twists. The cutscenes are unusual and made like comic stripes which amazes me. The puzzles are not hard,they are smooth and don't slow you from narration. Also there is some fun thing about picking objects - Malachi takes something only when he knows why he needs it. Sounds logical and when you will come across an object and you need to do something with it, you rather fast realise what you need and where to get it, but further in the game you need to fly to another state, and then you need to return because you couldn't pick up that object last time! Despite that I didn't noticed anything strange in setting. Basically the game pulls you in, I passed it in two days because I couldn't take my eyes out of it! Also it's obvious that it's the first game in this series and hopefully, net time Jane will have more budget to make the game even better. About the duo - it's the most EPIC BROMANCE since Sherlock (also another similarity). And of course they're shipped already :D
In conclusion: this new game of Jane Jensen is different, not bad. If you compare this game to Gabriel Knight - don't. It's another project, deal with it. Better support Jane so she would be able to make you lovely GB. Also the remake Sins of the Fathers was announced recently, so don't be picky.
Moebius is not bad, but it’s the weakest entry in Jane Jensen’s portfolio and we have every right to demand more from her than just a decent game. [06/2014, p.70]
Moebius: Empire Rising is a strikingly mediocre point-and-click adventure game, adequately checking all the boxes of a traditional entry in the genre but excelling at none of them.
Ultimately, Moebius feels like an early version of a full game, something that needs playtesting and a keen critical eye before it's ready for public consumption. Even fanfiction authors have editors.
Fan support and unlimited creative freedom gave birth to a monster. If Moebius were a debut by some unknown studio, I would have simply sniffed at it in disdain. But the knowledge that this wretched thing was produced by a lauded veteran of the industry fills my heart with primordial horror.
I for one loved the game and I'm very happy to have backed it on kickstarter. Yes there are a few annoying flaws with the arms animations and some puzzls do make you go back and forth but the story flows very well and the Moebius mystery is a great idea. I loved the character and the music and hope to see more of this series.
Starts off strong with a great lineage. Graphics always seem bulky and awkward. Especially with the slow and stiff movements of main AI. Story is engaging at first but concept loses steam halfway through the game. For little good reason the beautiful backdrops and music fall away to a cave exploration ending that just fails to feel like it even belongs in the same game. Ending is barely satisfactory considering the 7th and final chapter is full of glitches that are sometimes hilarious and other times computer rebooting. I had to restart 5 times during the last chapter and play through the first 15 minutes over again 3 of those times. I don't hate this game. But, it feels like it was abandoned around chapter 5 and left to chance whether or not it would work from there. It did. Barely. If it weren't attached to Gabriel Knight it wouldn't have so much to meet up too. But, when compared, the older game still prevails. There were a lot of lacking pieces to this adventure puzzle. Not to mention the constant stereotypes of other cultures and especially women. All women, according to this game, are sex starved, easily manipulated, and are greedy. Nah. Not all of them, anyway. Glad I played this game. I just wish the developers would have played the last 2 chapters before releasing it.
Moebius is a great game for the classic adventure gamer. The story is gripping, the characters interesting and the puzzles logical. I enjoyed playing it and I do hope it would turn into a new franchise.
Negative sides are the ending that feels rushed, the music that feels a bit outdated and the ease with which most puzzles are solved. There is the point too of the graphics being a bit substandard, but as the project had to make do with what they could **** together, it is understandable and forgivable. Not really a GK3-mystery, but still worth your while.
Considering the budget that this game was made on, it is not strange that the level of polish is not as high as it is on for instance Broken Age. If you compare it to cognition for instance, it does a lot better on the art, animation and cut scene department. But, Cognition, having a much smaller budget, is a lot more enjoyable. Because if you past the low budget art/animation sequences, you are left with a fairly decent adventure game, while with Moebius, the graphics are better, but the game underneath is a lot worse.
The most frustrating part Moebius for me, is the character profiling, and character matching puzzles. The game is full of them, which makes it repetitive. They come in two forms: a: you get to judge a character based on what they are wearing, or how they are looking, and try to find some extra data while doing so, b: you try to match a character to other people's lives based on facts about their life that overlap with the other person's life. The problem with these puzzles, is that sometimes, they're horribly ambiguous. So you put in the options which you think match best, press the button to verify, and the game just goes "WRONG".... upon which you can try to revise your choices (which make less sense to you now, since you went with your best guess first time around) or you brute force the thing, which can be a LOT of work.
The overwhelming amount of these type of puzzles, and the low amount of "game world"-puzzles (just to call m something) killed this game for me. I didn't finish it, which is a shame since I was looking forward to another Jane Jensen story to play. I backed the kickstarter for this for a good amount, and was really excited about it, but I'm afraid it is a lot less fun than Cognition was, and it can't hold a candle to Jensen's earlier work like Gabriël Knight or even Gray Matter (which I really enjoyed)
For me, an adventure game is about the story, and dealing with this story. Matching arbitrary statements in tables is not part of my definition of fun, and it feels to me like the game is full of m, because there's not much else going on.
This game could have been so... soo much more.
A real shame.
As someone who has loved all GK games and even enjoyed Gray Matter quite a bit (my rating: 4/5), I figured Jane would be able to handle herself and so I supported this with way more than any other game. Man, was I wrong.
The alpha was quite a disappointment but I figured they might still refine it a LOT and so I wrote an extensive report on it. Unfortunately, the quality of the final product is very similar. The animation is awful pretty much all around, characters don't even look into each other's eyes and the shoulders of the main character make him look bizarrely deformed.
With a delivery like that, how can one even care about the story? It's like watching a great theater piece being performed by some hillbilly amateur group that has only started to learn about acting two weeks ago.
It just seems unprofessional through and through. Well, aside from the music. There's that.
Speaking about being unprofessional - there are even spelling mistakes in the historical data. And there are words missing sometimes. I really enjoyed reading about some guy who "was talented Italian artist". But why care about such details, as if reading about things would be important in this game...
People keep talking about the niche appeal, the low budget, etc. to try to justify the low quality of Moebius. As if adventure games "naturally" have to look like crap. So, how do explain The Book of Unwritten Tales, Gray Matter, Deponia, Machinarium, etc.?
In fact, aside from the Telltale games, I don't think I've ever seen an adventure game that looked as bad as Moebius. And even though I don't care for Telltale's art style, I still find it acceptable in comparison.
And, frankly - Jane Jensen's writing isn't that great to begin with. For crying out loud, it's mundane, somewhat cheesy mystery stuff! There's nothing innovative or meaningful to be found in there. That was the case with Gabriel Knight already. But the overall atmosphere of the games was what caused it be a great ride. Unlike Moebius.
SummaryMoebius: Empire Rising is a contemporary adventure that merges classic point-and-click puzzle solving with Jane Jensen’s sophisticated storytelling. Travel the world using Malachi’s unique deductive powers to analyze suspects, make historical connections, and uncover the truth behind a theory of space and time the government will defend ...