izigame.me

Reveil has a nice atmosphere, good visuals, and decent voice acting. But the story, which is the heart of any walking simulator, is lacking.

One big problem in the first chapters (before the big reveal that happens towards the last third of the game) is that the main character feels very dumb. I mean, clearly there are very weird and sinister things happening to him, and yet he keeps asking himself "What's going on? Is this a nightmare?". But he basically brushes these things off and says something like "I have to keep going" or "I have to find my daughter", even though he himself acknowledges that none of what's happening is real.

Without spoiling anywhing, the "big reveal" is basically dumped on you at a certain moment. There's very little sense of wonder and discovery. That said, I pretty much enjoyed the last third of the game: the setting changes radically, and there's some good environmental storytelling that helps you understand what is going on. The game becomes more structured and you know what you're doing, as opposed to the first two thirds of the game, when you're simply going with the flow, with no real direction or compelling reason.

And all of that for a story that, though not terrible, is a very common trope. So nothing new or noteworthy here.

About the gameplay, well, it's a walking simulator, so I didn't expect anything brilliant, but I was still disappointed. There are some "puzzles", most of which are nothing more than chores and padding to make the game feel longer. Things like flipping switches in the right order by trial and error. There's only one good puzzle in the entire game: a "The Room" type minigame.

There are also some stealth sections. One of them actually contributes to the tension (Martha's room), but the others just feel like a nuissance. Oh, there are also a few jumpscares. I hate jumpscares, so this didn't help either.

All in all, Reveil isn't a bad walking sim at all, but it's too little too late. Some people complained it's too short, but I think it's too long, actually. Without the artificial padding and nonsense, this could be a fun 2-hour game. I would definitely recommend it if it were that short. But forcing its slow pace for 5-6 hours feels like too much of a drag. I couldn't wait for it to be over, which isn't a good sign.

If you want a story in the same ballpark, but better told and executed, I highly recommend SOMA.