The Fall (2014)

An absolute must-buy for fans of Philip K. Dick and Arthur Clarke, The Fall is a prime example of a perfect storm of a game. Coming out of left field with zero hype, it banks on rock solid game mechanics and incredible art direction/voice overs, to carry a poignant story that will stay with players long after the end credits have rolled.

The Fall is one of the best science fiction games around. This first episode talks about artificial intelligence and difficult choices. Its mix of action and puzzle solving moves the intriguing narrative, which is sustained by beautiful writing and unique atmosphere.

My new favorite proof that you can create a cinematic experience without millions of dollars and photorealistic visuals. [10/2014, p.67]

A nice robo-drama that doesn't need to complicate things. The Fall is clever, albeit a little bit inhuman. [Issue#244]

A bit more text would have been nice, as the possibility to maybe study some archives and extract more about the backstory of the game universe would have made the wait for the next installments much more justifiable and pleasant.

The Fall is a short but excellent first chapter of a planned trilogy. Even as it neatly wraps up its own story, it leaves enough questions unanswered (and raises some new ones) to create anticipation for the follow-up.

Beginning as a universally relatable fantasy about overcoming red tape, The Fall winds up as a game about identity and civil rights without ever talking too much or treading too clumsily.

Over the Moon have begun something very special with The Fall and you’ll be looking out for ARID again even months after you finish this intriguing opening act.

The game is a thoroughly atmospheric side scrolling action adventure game. The action feels a touch too limited and a touch too clumsy and the adventuring is rather basic. The negatives are almost offset by a very engaging storyline. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story develops, but in order for this to become a cult classic the gameplay could use some additional development. [Sept 2014]

The game is a throwback to the old-style point-and-click adventure game, requiring you to solve puzzles with limited assets within a constantly shifting scaffold of constraints that limits what is and is not possible. For the most part, the game avoids the exasperating opacity that once plagued adventure games—flush the pickle down the toilet in order to get the car keys—but there is nevertheless little room for variation in how one solves the puzzles, and little room for choice within the story.

While mechanically this action-adventure is mediocre, it shines with its story approach and its characters.

First act of an announced trilogy, The Fall has an impressive story and a compelling setting. Its gameplay is not as brilliant, but there's space for improvements.

Despite the initial plan to cut The Fall into several episodes, Over the Moon decided not to tease us with a cliffhanger – it’s a self-contained, albeit short, story.

A clever and sound sci-fi story in one adventurous package. It may torture your brain as well as your patience. After an intense opening its tempo is decreased, however, by the time you reach its excellent finale it will increase.

In short, fix these problems Over The Moon and maybe the second episode of The Fall will be all fun and not just the last hour.