Seen Review (shneeto)
5/10
I'm so torn with Seen.
The art and world building is on the verge of being intriguing, but there are a few things that completely break the immersion for me and frustrate me to the point where I do not want to finish this game.
WHAT I DISLIKE A LOT:
1. Seen unnecessarily explains things that should be left for the player to interpret. The red and blue orbs are literally described as "blue=hope" and "red=discouragement". Aspects of the game like the one just described makes the player feel stupid, or like the creator felt they had to force a narrative instead of letting the audience come to their own subjective interpretations of what things mean. Metaphors lose their personal emotional power when they're explained. Show me, don't tell me.
2. There are unnecessary inspirational quotes EVERYWHERE. When you die, there's a quote, when the player get's beat up, there's a quote. The game tries SO hard to be deep that it hurts, and that's really unfortunate because there are times that I was emotionally moved, only to cringe a moment later when an inspirational quote is slapped on the screen. Kinda the equivalent of "live, laugh, love". Basically "here's how to be sad" for 14 year olds who think they have depression. I'm upset because this game is SO VERY close to being a work of art but kicks itself in the face by trying too hard. This game could greatly benefit from having every word on screen removed and more emphasis put on visual storytelling.
3. Literally every other character in Seen is out to get you for NO reason. In multiple parts of the story, other people will just start beating you for no reason. Try to get ice cream? BEAT UP. Try to walk down the road? DEMOLISHED. It's hilarious. Instead of making me feel bad for the Protagonist, I pause and say to myself, "WTF was that for, was that supposed to make me feel bad?" Instead of using tropes like getting beat up for no reason when trying to buy ice cream, have the scene be full of people with one color of ice cream, and the boy gets beat down and ridiculed for choosing a different flavor. Use storytelling that the audience can relate to, not lazy writing where someone gets beat down in the street for no reason just because "it sad. put me in feelz."
4. I really like the differences in Seen's gameplay. Sometimes you have to figure out puzzles, other times you'll have to parkour across chasms or collect orbs in a fast paced auto-run segment. It keeps gameplay from being stagnant, though I think there should be more focus on the core puzzle solving aspect of the game. I was confused on what the primary play style of the game was since you are initially introduced to an auto-run type mode, then thrown into puzzle solving.
5. The challenge tab should not be available until after game completion or should be removed entirely. It adds nothing to the overall game and was confusing to see in the menu. I lost progress because I clicked on it thinking that it would be a list of achievements to shoot for.
6. Why are there SO MANY ACHIEVEMENTS?? Talk about breaking immersion. There is almost always an achievement pop-up on screen, pretty much one for every orb you pick up. Cut down on achievements and reward players for "streaks" or finding difficult places to reach instead. I LOVE secrets and this game is full of special places to find, but there's no reward other than some blue orbs. Add trinkets for the player to find in hard to reach places that uncover more of the protagonists past?
WHAT I REALLY LIKE:
1. Seen has an amazing soundtrack. I found that I was emotionally moved by the music more than anything else. The synchronization of the music and parts of the puzzles is a genius idea that deepens immersion and makes monotonous parts of gameplay interesting.
3. There are lots of secrets and places to find if the player is willing to "overcomplete" certain puzzles, like the alphabet puzzle in the lower bridge section.
2. The colors and animations are spot on.
In conclusion, Seen is a game that I hope to return to at some point further down the line of development. The overall concept is cool, but lacking in many places and emotionally frustrating to play. While on the road to being compelling, Seen tries too hard to make sense of a world that should be left up to the player's subjective interpretation. The puzzles and soundtrack are a lot of fun, but are overshadowed by bad storytelling and over explanation. It's so close to being a wonderful work of art, but held back by weird gameplay and design choices. Unless some core storytelling aspects of the game are changed, Seen will remain a painfully "fake deep" experience that lacks in emotional weight. I hope to see this game become something great, but I cannot recommend at this point. Will be looking forward to futher development. :)