Kona is a story based game worth telling, combining aspects such as narrative world-building and free-flowing gameplay. This title cannot be overlooked.
Kôna doesn’t inundate the player with a complicated story, and Parabole allows this captivating narrative and stellar graphics to speak for themselves. While there are a few issues within the game, they are not enough to spoil the fun of the game. If you are one that loves investigative story lines, this is for you, however, if you aren’t totally sold on the premise of the game, you might want to wait until the price of the game drops a bit.
One of the best indie games! The ambience is adorable, gameplay is very catchy and plot is very mysterious! I wish it were a AAA project in the same world, with the same mechanics...
That ending notwithstanding, Kona is a trip worth taking. It’s a beautiful, moody showcase of the snowy wilds of northern Canada, and a slow-burning mystery steeped in atmosphere. Play it for the journey, not the destination.
Kona is an inspiring game that pulls the player into the story. Unfortunately, Kona cannot maintain the same pace that it has at the beginning of the game. But besides that, Kona is still a nice game.
Spanning several hours and sporting a number of more traditional game features, Kona feels far meatier compared to your average walking sim. The combination of nonlinear design and survival mechanics certainly help to dispel some of the issues I have with the genre. That said, the vagueness surrounding some puzzles, frequent backtracking, and a somewhat dissatisfying finale left me with mixed feelings despite introducing some welcome changes to the formula.
The debut title from Parabole shows us that a good, well written story and a fascinating setting aren't enough to create a convincing narrative first person adventure. The derivative gameplay is often sloppy and confused, resulting in an experience far from engaging or satisfying. Technically more than modest, it's a game we could not recommend, not even to the fans of the genre.
This is a fun little game, with a unique personality. You explore the winter village environment by your own pace, piecing together the story of its inhabitants and their relations to the core investigation.There are survival elements, though they are more a reason to make exploration compelling. The best part about this game is the feeling of exploration and atmosphere. The music is fun and memorable, as is the town itself. However, the last 30 minutes of this game is absolutely jarring. The story takes a nosedive in terms of its core theme and then the game is just over. It feels out of place and I think everybody else highlighted the same problem in their playthrough. I choose not to punish this game as harshly, since my overall feeling about it was so positive andit felt like the developer's time just got cut short and they didn't have the necessary resources to wrap this game up in a satisfactory way. However, man, this could have been a 10. There are similarities to Everybody's gone to the rapture and Soma, but the game is more interactive, which proves that the "walking simulator" genre doesn't have to hold your hand to be good.
Interesting story, setting and characters. Also I liked the light survival elements in a narrative game like this, although they could have been more deep. In PS5 it runs better than PS4 since there's no loading screens. The fighting/gun control isn't very good and feels wonky but it doesn't ruin an overall good experience.
The gameplay, atmosphere and really cool features like the vehicles and mechanics are outstanding. Unfortunately, the storyline has been poisoned by a disconnected writer, or producer at some point in the Parabole development cycle. Carl Faubert, a Korean war veteran turned P.I. is a rough and tough man who is actually possessed of dark passions and insecurities. Carl has a twisted hatred for patriarchal tradition scoffing at a childs pictures of a family unit. The unbelievable character seems to hold strange hetrodox concepts of random things being sinful aka "missing the mark" such as drinking alcohol. Those messages are just confusing . The game is littered with destructive propaganda such as a child describing her father's God. As if children hold theological concepts skeptically at such a young age. An adulterous wife who believes she is damned and a victim of an evil God. Clearly the point being made is she is brainwashed victim and simply does not have the freedom she deserves to cheat on her husband and have an abortion. Other strange and angry messages are littered throughout the game generally pointed at traditional families and unity. Unfortunately, the double barrel loaded propaganda destroys any suspension of disbelief disconnecting players from what was an amazing atmospheric game. I really wanted to love this game but clearly there are some very angry people over at Parabole. Hopefully those individuals will find healing before their next release.
Sooo boring, and this is from someone who appreciates slow burns like the Frogware Sherlock games or LA Noire. This game is a boring clunky mess. Vehicles are clunky, the puzzles make no sense, and the combat, the little bit there is, is terrible. I wanted to like this game but it just takes too much
SummaryNorthern Canada, 1970. A strange blizzard ravages Atamipek Lake. Step into the shoes of a detective to explore the eerie village, investigate surreal events, and battle the elements to survive. The first installment in a series of four games, Kona is a chilly interactive tale you won't soon forget.