Promesa wanted to be so much more than it is. It very much feels as though the creator has the context that the player doesn’t, and the poor performance makes it difficult to muddle through to try and find it.
Promesa attempts to convey a moving, intergenerational tale through its spaces, as it shuttles the player to various locales, interspersing these journeys with quotes shared by a grandfather to his grandchild. You don’t really need to do much; you just walk until you can’t anymore, and then you’ll be transported to the next place. But these spaces are also mostly devoid of meaningful context; I wasn’t even aware I was reading a familial conversation until I read the synopsis on a website. Then there are the purportedly haunting and surreal spaces, which are as sparse and lifeless as the memories you’re supposedly traversing through, having been mostly constructed with far too little subtleties to pique my curiosity. Compounded by the absolutely glacial speed I was travelling at, and I found myself making an early exit.
Summary A contemplative experience where you’ll wander through the dreams, memories and fantasies emerging from a dialogue between a grandfather and his grandchild.