Subject 13: Review

“Cambeks” of eminent developers today, few people will surprise. In the case of p Cusse field (Paul Cuisset), a well-known French game designer, is amazingly different: once he worked on the famous adventure cyberpunk platformer Flashback, No less well -known simulator Moto Racer and Survival/Horror Amy, And now, three years after his last work, for some reason he took up the classic quest-to put it mildly, not the most popular genre now. For the company Microids, publishing Subject 13 Fields Kysse, This is also a kind of “fluff”. Once she stood behind such famous quests as Syberia And Still Life, But then difficult times came for the company. And here is a new attempt to return to your favorite genre ..

Subjective past

As in the elderly Flashback, Paul turns to the theme of science fiction, albeit not in such a pronounced Cyberpankovsky entourage. The protagonist, professor of physics Franklin Fargo, discovers himself in a certain abandoned research center, where of all the interlocutors is only a mysterious voice belonging, apparently, reasonable AI. He calls Franklin a title “subject 13”.

Of the electronic notes scattered everywhere, we will gradually learn that the complex is located on a certain island where Indian tribes lived. A source of powerful energy was discovered here, and this made it possible to conduct various experiments, including even to search for exits to parallel universes, to switch between different layers of time and space.

Exploring the complex, Franklin periodically sees his wife, who is actually already dead. Either a ghost, or hallucinations, or a hologram … This, of course, is not a Solaris, but in history Subject 13 Much is tied precisely on the past of the protagonist, on his personal drama. And this gives her a special emotional color, causing a desire to figure out what happened and what all this means. A mysterious voice asks to get out of the complex and get to the ancient temple, where you can get answers to all questions.

Cesam

, open!

It will not be easy to do. Subject 13 -The most classic quest, where there was a place for exercises with objects (once from improvised materials you will even have to make a pepper can to scare away the bear), and for numerous puzzles and mini-games. Every five minutes we select codes, open something and activate something by solving a particular puzzle.

However, not all of them are so complicated – many are repeated and solved by the method of banal selection and enforcement of all possible options. For veterans of the genre Subject 13 And at all, most likely, it will seem to be a collection of simple mini-games. In general, the difficulty here, let’s say, balanced: not too primitive, but not Myst, Certainly. And not even recent Homesick. Moreover, there is a system of tips that will once allow you to miss a particularly cunning puzzle.

Physics for physics

Much more problems can be delivered by management features and in general interaction with the surrounding space. The authors made us just like in the series Penumbra, Put the boards, unscrew the nuts, open some doors, throw a rope across the bridge and so on. In general, they realized like a realistic physical model.

Only, firstly, it is not very clear why it is needed in a classic quest. And secondly, the management is inconvenient and unresponsive. And when, for example, you set the spotlights so that the light is refracted and falls to a certain point, you do not think with your head, and first of all you fight with the cursor, trying to expand them in the right direction.

But the fact that each item, whether it is an inventory or a closet that the hero studies, can and should be turned and examined in every way from different angles, trying to find an important detail or symbol drawn on the back wall, even interesting – this gives what is happening its highlight. It’s a pity that in Subject 13 There is no almost mandatory backlight of active points – very often you have to do tedious “pixel hunting”.

In each chapter, it is desirable to collect all notes in order to get an exhaustive idea of ​​what happened here.

Double “Cumbek” – Fields Kysse and companies Microids – It turned out ambiguous. Subject 13 It looks good, well voiced, the plot is intriguing, and the puzzles come across interesting. But the game lacks that composure, elaboration and depth that distinguished Flashback or Syberia.

Pros: An interesting plot;abundance of mini-games and riddles;balanced complexity;pretty picture;All dialogs and notes are voiced.
Cons: Many puzzles and mini games are repeated;inconvenient management;Tiring “pixelhanting”.