Moebius: Empire Rising

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 121 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 121
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 121
  3. Negative: 36 out of 121

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. wavigravi
    Apr 20, 2014
    5
    Interesting story , but the shoddy animations put me off this game completely. I cant stop laughing at the main character that walks like hes been thoroughly shafted. I don't understand how such shoddy animations can make it to final release. Poor effort
  2. SOLEFISH
    Nov 19, 2015
    7
    Starts off strong with a great lineage. Graphics always seem bulky and awkward. Especially with the slow and stiff movements of main AI. Story is engaging at first but concept loses steam halfway through the game. For little good reason the beautiful backdrops and music fall away to a cave exploration ending that just fails to feel like it even belongs in the same game. Ending is barelyStarts off strong with a great lineage. Graphics always seem bulky and awkward. Especially with the slow and stiff movements of main AI. Story is engaging at first but concept loses steam halfway through the game. For little good reason the beautiful backdrops and music fall away to a cave exploration ending that just fails to feel like it even belongs in the same game. Ending is barely satisfactory considering the 7th and final chapter is full of glitches that are sometimes hilarious and other times computer rebooting. I had to restart 5 times during the last chapter and play through the first 15 minutes over again 3 of those times. I don't hate this game. But, it feels like it was abandoned around chapter 5 and left to chance whether or not it would work from there. It did. Barely. If it weren't attached to Gabriel Knight it wouldn't have so much to meet up too. But, when compared, the older game still prevails. There were a lot of lacking pieces to this adventure puzzle. Not to mention the constant stereotypes of other cultures and especially women. All women, according to this game, are sex starved, easily manipulated, and are greedy. Nah. Not all of them, anyway. Glad I played this game. I just wish the developers would have played the last 2 chapters before releasing it.… Expand
  3. Plukh
    Apr 16, 2014
    6
    This could've been a great game. Unfortunately, it falls far short from greatness, and barely reaches mediocrity.

    First of all, it uses the same in-house engine that Cognition was using, and it's horrific. Animations are terrible, facial expressions are terrible, clipping is terrible, interaction with backgrounds is terrible - everything about this engine is terrible. There is just no    This could've been a great game. Unfortunately, it falls far short from greatness, and barely reaches mediocrity.

    First of all, it uses the same in-house engine that Cognition was using, and it's horrific. Animations are terrible, facial expressions are terrible, clipping is terrible, interaction with backgrounds is terrible - everything about this engine is terrible. There is just no excuse in this day and age to use something that bad to present your game.

    Second, the writing is, well... uninspired, to say the least. I can't say if Jane Jensen had really lost her magic, if it had something to do with strains of producing a completely new game on a tight budget, or perhaps some personal issues - but the end result is a barely coherent story with underdeveloped and (mostly) instantly forgettable characters.

    If you're a die-hard Jane Jensen fan - by all means, do check this game out. But, in all honesty, everyone else would be better off getting (or replaying) any of the Gabriel Knight games instead.    … Expand
  4. Tante
    Apr 16, 2014
    5
    Unfortunately this game gets nowhere near the Gabriel Knight series and is a mediocre Adventure Game at best. Character animations are very wobbly and look unnatural (+arms frequently clip into bodies), actually interactive items are rare for a game from this genre and the puzzles... I just don't know. Most items can't even be picked up before the character 'knows' he needs them which IUnfortunately this game gets nowhere near the Gabriel Knight series and is a mediocre Adventure Game at best. Character animations are very wobbly and look unnatural (+arms frequently clip into bodies), actually interactive items are rare for a game from this genre and the puzzles... I just don't know. Most items can't even be picked up before the character 'knows' he needs them which I always find frustrating (f.e. a bottle of motor oil certainly could prove useful in the future, damnit) as it leads to needless walking back and forth between scenes as a fetchquest. Thats not stimulating to me. Analysing people as well as objects Sherlock-Style (the main character is a -very- logical person) could have been interesting but the execution falls flat once more as - at least with people - it all comes back down to clichés and guesswork as the player receives 3 possible options per noticed thing (one often being rather nonsensical though, so lets say 2 options). Comparing modern-day people to people in history is interesting as well but ultimately boils down to just counting how many datapoints match up - which, really, is not very engaging either after a few times even as the player learns more about historical figures.
    Overall: Pass.    … Expand
  5. theNILE
    Apr 22, 2014
    6
    It has charm, but really, that's all it has going for it. Like a lot of mediocre point & clicks, the plot is rather bland and doesn't really draw you in, you don't have much to entertain you while the plot unfolds and there is a typical lack of dialogue at some points, uncharacteristic for a game such as this. On the flip side, the settings are done well, the small characters are fleshedIt has charm, but really, that's all it has going for it. Like a lot of mediocre point & clicks, the plot is rather bland and doesn't really draw you in, you don't have much to entertain you while the plot unfolds and there is a typical lack of dialogue at some points, uncharacteristic for a game such as this. On the flip side, the settings are done well, the small characters are fleshed out well enough, although rather stereotypical. Mediocre graphics too. Overall, it's just mediocre but one of the better ones, the charm (partly from some good dialogue) seems to be the only thing making me like the game.… Expand
  6. Dunge
    Apr 17, 2014
    6
    I'm up to chapter 4 writing this review. I love pretty much all point-and-click games and loved Cognition from the same devs. This one is so-so. The story start too slow, but get a bit better after chapter 1.

    Pro: The background graphics are very nice, the music and voice acting are also good. The game don't have any apparent bugs. Con: The characters bones structure are fubar, as if    I'm up to chapter 4 writing this review. I love pretty much all point-and-click games and loved Cognition from the same devs. This one is so-so. The story start too slow, but get a bit better after chapter 1.

    Pro: The background graphics are very nice, the music and voice acting are also good. The game don't have any apparent bugs.

    Con: The characters bones structure are fubar, as if they have no neck. Some of their movements look like broken robots. The French part of the game are translated by google translate and often makes no sense (source: I'm French). The homosexual bromance between male characters makes me uneasy, but that's personal, I shouldn't blame the game for it. Rector (the main character) is a total douche and everything he say make me want to punch him, but I think that's intended.    … Expand
  7. Janmanden
    Jun 26, 2014
    7
    Unless you are easily challenged by graphical issues and pauses it's worth a try on a discount.

    I am not a Jane Jensen, but I played some of her previous games, which was the best to come ouf of Sierra Studios in its time, imo, but not the best I've played. I played the demo first and then read the reviews. I had quite a mixed feeling about the game from the demo and decided to try    Unless you are easily challenged by graphical issues and pauses it's worth a try on a discount.

    I am not a Jane Jensen, but I played some of her previous games, which was the best to come ouf of Sierra Studios in its time, imo, but not the best I've played.

    I played the demo first and then read the reviews. I had quite a mixed feeling about the game from the demo and decided to try it out if the price dropped - it did and I bought it. I was biased from the beginning and it stuck with me until chapter 3 more or less, but then I got tired of the hate, ignored the errors and learnt how to play the game right and was mostly quite entertained for the rest. It took me about 25 hours to complete it, perhaps a bit less, but I learnt a few things about how not-to-play the game the hard way.

    This game really starts off on the wrong foot and it's easy to hate and criticize, but once you get used to the sometimes odd mechanics and design flaws also mentioned in Critic Reviews and realize that you are playing a somewhat borderline psychotic and resentful anti-hero it gets better. It's clearly a game made on a limited budget and planning, but everything, but the characters, looks and sounds quite decent. Had to turn off the music, because it was giving me a headache, but the voices are quite acceptable.

    I guess the relationship between the two main characters is a bit old-school, reserved and respectable like Holmes and Watson. Reviews that touch the relationship, doesn't make that analogy or any other and fails to explain anything to me, really.

    There are too many bashing reviews. It's much easier to hate that it is to love, that's a quite banal way of putting it, but quite true. I like to hate too, sometimes and the game can be quite annoying in some ways, which can be partially avoided if you play it right (double-clicking to move faster, using the tool bar for switching areas), but it seems to me that a lot of reviewers like to whine more than the game deserves.

    There are some interesting new points and features of Adventure gaming, that should have been given more attention in development, because it's a bit too immature in it's present form being more about nailing the stereotype than making indepth character analysis and it also seems to be a bit too much of an old-school Sierra Adventure game, because you can make game-breaking mistakes that drops you in a "death" screen, but unless you are in a hurry to finish the game it shouldn't really be a problem and most of these events do actually make a lot of sense just like the "menace" of the inventory.

    Could have been an 8 or 8.5 with more work and polish, but as it is, I liked it, but it's a bit hard to recommend, because there is a personal requirement to play the game. A patch to fix the crappy graphics would be really (REALLY) nice.    … Expand
  8. lehulk
    Apr 29, 2014
    7
    Pros :
    + Good story
    + Interesting deduction feature (I wish it could have more impact on the dialogues though)
    + Interesting set of characters

    Cons :
    - The animations are a little bit outdated, but I didn't really expect more for a game with such a small budget.
    - The last chapter of the game kinda annoying, probably rushed because they run out of time/money
  9. jinx78
    Jun 27, 2014
    7
    Moebius is a great game for the classic adventure gamer. The story is gripping, the characters interesting and the puzzles logical. I enjoyed playing it and I do hope it would turn into a new franchise.
    Negative sides are the ending that feels rushed, the music that feels a bit outdated and the ease with which most puzzles are solved. There is the point too of the graphics being a bit    Moebius is a great game for the classic adventure gamer. The story is gripping, the characters interesting and the puzzles logical. I enjoyed playing it and I do hope it would turn into a new franchise.
    Negative sides are the ending that feels rushed, the music that feels a bit outdated and the ease with which most puzzles are solved. There is the point too of the graphics being a bit substandard, but as the project had to make do with what they could scrape together, it is understandable and forgivable. Not really a GK3-mystery, but still worth your while.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 40
  3. Negative: 13 out of 40
  1. Merlin'in Kazanı (Turkey)
    Jul 30, 2014
    54
    On this new Jane Jansen adventure game, we are taking the role of an Antique dealer Malachi Rector, a man with terrible 3D graphics.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2014
    65
    Moebius is not bad, but it’s the weakest entry in Jane Jensen’s portfolio and we have every right to demand more from her than just a decent game. [06/2014, p.70]
  3. PC Gamer UK
    Jun 16, 2014
    70
    Despite awkward graphics, it uses classic adventure themes to craft a mystery and a world worth exploring. [July 2014, p.72]
See all critic reviews »