- Publisher: The Fullbright Company , Fullbright
- Release Date: Aug 1, 2017
- Also On: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Aug 9, 2017Tacoma is a playable science fiction movie with exciting ideas, but gameplay and emotions are lacking.
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Aug 7, 2017The lean gameplay and mechanics don’t gel with the unfocused narrative, and it’s a singular flaw that Tacoma can’t overcome. There’s plenty to like in the game, but it struggles to find a cohesive theme that brings the experience together.
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Aug 2, 2017The puzzles and the forward and rewinding function have been implemented too half-heartedly, for which the action ends too often in predictable and unconstrained paths.
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Edge MagazineAug 17, 2017It is wonderfully written, its world lived-in and vivid. It meets our expectations of a Fullbright game, but sadly leaves it at that. [Issue#310, p.114]
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Aug 13, 2017Tacoma is a rightful heir to Gone Home. Exploration of the station, with the possibility to learn about the crew through holographic projections, makes us feel we are in a very lively place and the main story, that wants us to think about capitalism and I.A.'s future is captivating, even thought the experience is quite short.
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Aug 11, 2017This space version of Gone Home isn't astonishing like the predecessor. The story is compelling but too compressed, and the graphics are sloppy. We'd expected something deeper from Fullbright's second game.
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Aug 9, 2017After only two hours the mystery about Tacoma is solved, but the personal stories about the crew members definitely stick. The story might not be as brilliant as Gone Home's, the original way of storytelling is excellent.
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Aug 2, 2017Tacoma has some great characterisation and is a very different breed of science fiction, but my enjoyment was sapped by one key mistake in how the story was told. It also has issues with loading and can be somewhat bland to look at, but looking around you, the environmental storytelling is top-notch. By the end, I’d become invested in these characters, but not necessarily their plight.
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Aug 2, 2017Tacoma domesticates the space adventure by making its characters and setting all-important. The plot does contain a couple of twists, but the revelations are more of the “ah” then the “ah-ha!” sort.
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Aug 1, 2017Tacoma is a master class in interactive character work, in the art of giving you the tools to experience a fascinating place through others’ eyes.
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Aug 1, 2017Fullbright has crafted an impressive yet ultimately unfulfilling narrative adventure in Tacoma. Its characters and setting are some of the best in the medium in terms of dialogue and atmosphere, but the overarching plot is far too weak to hold them altogether. That being said, exploring the lonely space station is a journey I don’t regret taking.
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Aug 1, 2017I liked Tacoma though, even with its fumbles. I felt more engaged watching (and rewinding, pausing, fast-forwarding) how things played out than I had in a lot of games like it. That's likely because it's the rare game where the player is in direct control of what, when, and how they see everything.
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Aug 1, 2017Meticulous attention to detail makes even the most mundane things, like a forgotten book in a corner or a bottle of shampoo, captivating, and strong voice acting and writing gives surprising depth to characters who are physically absent from the story itself. But its two levels never really intersect in meaningful ways, culminating in an ending that's thought-provoking but short of being revelatory.
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Aug 1, 2017The story is built out of the playback mechanic, which gives birth to the subtler suggestions of what’s really going on with this station. But the playback system means there’s a lot of talking to listen to, and a lot of wireframes to stare at. For a game about an abandoned space station, Tacoma gave me plenty of company. But the moments where I had to reckon with being alone in space were the ones that stuck with me.
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CD-ActionOct 30, 2017Gone Home developers tackle the issue of corporate hell aboard futuristic space station. Unfortunately their sentimental style does not go along with the brutally down-to-earth (oh, the irony!) subject too well. [10/2017, p.67]
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Aug 8, 2017Tacoma lays the foundation for a truly great story, but a short length and some unexplored ideas leave it feeling lacking. I loved the characters I met over the course of the story and there are some standouts. ODIN, voiced by Justice League Unlimited alum Carl Lumbly, is particularly a treat. But by the end, I was hoping for just a little more from them, as well as more from the whole concept as a whole.
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Aug 7, 2017This fuzziness at the game’s heart makes you wonder what magic Fullbright could work with its eye for detail worked into a meatier tale. As it is, Tacoma drifts towards ennui more than you would hope, especially given its familiar setting. But what a setting it can be; rich craft and detailed stories worked into every corner, device and discarded piece of paper. Despite some misgivings, a trip to Tacoma is still one worth taking.
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Aug 1, 2017A disappointing follow-up to Gone Home that tells a less interesting and less focused tale, while failing to advance the art of interactive storytelling.
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Aug 1, 2017Tacoma's top-notch story and presentation are arranged into an inappropriate structure that will dull the experience, even for fans of exploration games.
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Sep 21, 2017Walking simulators live or die by the strength of their narrative, and Tacoma gives away its main plot just minutes after you start playing it. It does have other secrets, but they aren’t worth your time.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Aug 1, 2017A short, sweet translation of Gone Home's cosy environmental storytelling into the realm of speculative fiction. [Recommended]
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Aug 1, 2017Tacoma ultimately succeeds as a piece of emotional storytelling. Every moment spent with the crew is spellbinding, as their strengths and struggles play out in painful detail. The experience is sometimes frustrating, but Tacoma leaves a lasting impression.
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Aug 1, 2017As with Fullbright’s previous game, Gone Home, Tacoma won’t be for everyone, but it’s a masterclass in environmental and gradual storytelling. It weaves an intriguing story against the backdrop of a believable near-future culture. I think its linearity combined with my extensive exploration means I won’t replay it unless I suddenly think of a question I want answered or until I’ve forgotten a sufficient amount that it feels like a new discovery. But that’s not a criticism. I got everything I wanted from that playthrough and I loved it. [RPS Recommended]
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Aug 1, 2017Its twists are carefully planted and developed within that flood of information, subverting expectations based on Fullbright’s previous game, as well as those that have spawned in its wake. Its innovations are likely to be quietly imitated and refined for years to come, but, like its predecessor, it is most remarkable for doing something simpler and much more rare: It tells a damn good story.
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Aug 2, 2017Tacoma isn’t the revelation Gone Home was, but it also doesn’t have to be. Abrupt conclusion aside, the game is a smart and emotional experience, one that pushes the nascent first-person exploration genre ever slightly forward. If Gone Home was proof that first-person narrative games had a future, Tacoma represents that very future — and how much potential it still has.
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Aug 1, 2017Tacoma isn't Gone Home, but that's an impossible ask. Tacoma is, however, a clever game with a thoughtful story to tell about life, people, and technology.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 70 out of 159
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Mixed: 56 out of 159
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Negative: 33 out of 159
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Aug 2, 2017
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Aug 13, 2017
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Feb 5, 2018