The Fall (2014)

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 83 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 83
  3. Negative: 12 out of 83

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  1. lawless1013
    Aug 11, 2014
    8
    + Great atmosphere, moody.
    +Dark story
    +with a neat twist.
    -It's short,
    + but it doesn't beat around the bush.
    -Control scheme is inefficient.
    -Some times the next step was not discernible based on information given. "Umm. I guess I'll try this?"

    Over all 8/10
  2. Bill_Clay
    Jul 13, 2014
    9
    I thought I'd be playing a clone of The Swapper, based on it's visuals, but I was pleasantly surprised how unique and strong The Fall's story was. Though some of the puzzles frustrated me, I literally couldn't stop playing until I saw how the plot was resolved. I also enjoyed how puzzle solving and combat were mixed together. I'm looking forward to the planned sequels!
  3. KipDynamite
    Sep 2, 2014
    10
    That is truely art.
    There actually are some faults that may have taken place due to the size size of the development team like glitches, pretty horribe combat mechanics, stiff controls and stuff like that.
    BUT it's somehow still 10 out of 10. It's a game which you can forgive for pretty much anything it does wrong because the feeling you get from playing it is far more superior.
  4. Languster
    May 24, 2015
    10
    Simply Amazing.

    Excellent pacing, superb storytelling and very atmospheric. The Fall is a 3D side scrolling adventure game with some action elements. It does a very pleasant mix of side scrolling shooter, simple yet elegant puzzle solving and subtle storytelling. There is a fair deal of excellent voice acting and I found my self being invested in the characters. Many games does the    Simply Amazing.

    Excellent pacing, superb storytelling and very atmospheric.

    The Fall is a 3D side scrolling adventure game with some action elements. It does a very pleasant mix of side scrolling shooter, simple yet elegant puzzle solving and subtle storytelling. There is a fair deal of excellent voice acting and I found my self being invested in the characters. Many games does the mistake of telling the player to much about the game's world. The Fall knows the value in keeping some secrets, letting the player reflect on the setting and the story.

    The controls are responsive and does what they are supposed to. If I'm to find anything to note is that the aiming takes a few minutes to get the hang of.

    This little gem shows the value in keeping a small scope and delivering quality within that scope.    … Expand
  5. nadcad
    Jun 10, 2014
    10
    From the protagonist's initial fall to this planet, the story captured me and drew me in. The art and sound created a world beautiful and eerie. Shortly after the story began to unfold, I felt that I was getting a window into a much larger, intriguing world; complete, very real and deeply dark. The dialogue and voice acting created characters that I became so emotionally invested in that IFrom the protagonist's initial fall to this planet, the story captured me and drew me in. The art and sound created a world beautiful and eerie. Shortly after the story began to unfold, I felt that I was getting a window into a much larger, intriguing world; complete, very real and deeply dark. The dialogue and voice acting created characters that I became so emotionally invested in that I have thought of them for days since, wondering about their histories and motivations. The puzzles, for me, were a reason to further explore the depths of this bizarre world. As a filmmaker, this game left more of a mark than many films I have watched. There was a haunting beauty about this world, and I laughed out loud many times, thoroughly enjoying the wit of characters, and morbid absurdity of certain tasks throughout the game. I was left feeling so invested that I am eager to experience the next installment. This is a brilliant game.… Expand
  6. djbobbyc
    Jun 22, 2014
    9
    An intelligent, thinking person's game with great atmosphere and sense of humour. If you like sci-fi and old-school point'n'click adventure games, you're sure to love this. These days, I get quite jaded with games and often stop playing them after an hour or so, but I couldn't stop playing The Fall - it captivated me right up until the brilliant ending.

    It took me 5 hours to complete    An intelligent, thinking person's game with great atmosphere and sense of humour. If you like sci-fi and old-school point'n'click adventure games, you're sure to love this. These days, I get quite jaded with games and often stop playing them after an hour or so, but I couldn't stop playing The Fall - it captivated me right up until the brilliant ending.

    It took me 5 hours to complete (going very slowly!) and I loved every second of it. I only got stuck on the puzzles once, but a quick look online gave me a hint on how to proceed. There are only a few characters in this game, but they are written amazingly well.

    The combat is OK, it's not brilliant and it doesn't really add much to the game. But I did like the game mechanic of switching between flashlight and gun.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this game and cannot wait for the 2nd and 3rd installments in the trilogy.    … Expand
  7. qchto
    Jun 23, 2014
    9
    Metroid meets Limbo meets Monkey Island with a twist. I started this game expecting a dark and gritty metroidvania but I found myself pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the combat mechanics (which btw are very simplistic, but capable enough as it is not this game focus) that kept me playing, it was the story.
    I don't want to spoil much, but while you basically control a robot away from    Metroid meets Limbo meets Monkey Island with a twist. I started this game expecting a dark and gritty metroidvania but I found myself pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the combat mechanics (which btw are very simplistic, but capable enough as it is not this game focus) that kept me playing, it was the story.
    I don't want to spoil much, but while you basically control a robot away from any conscious human being for , there is a lot of character development in a short period of time (which is even weirder if you consider the main premise of this game is very similar to "Metroid Other M").
    Enviromentally, this game is beautifully weird: I found it a lot less scary than Limbo, but at the same time its a lot more unpleasant and realistic without being too graphic.
    Now, the puzzle solving is represents this game partial strength but also its main weakness: the puzzles are little and pretty straightforward by themselves, but then you're bombarded with too many of them at the same time, it can become a heavy to follow, even more if you consider that there's no place for experimentation (no combination-in-menu mechanic, no more comments than "i cannot do that" at random uses), you can't really fail any of them and the first playthrough could take you hours to complete just because of this, also crippling part of its replay value.
    But don't be fooled, it's very unlikely to get all this game narrative has to offer the first time, and if you're a completionist you will be repeating it just to check the different conversation outcomes.
    In the end, this game is an excellent example of story-driven exploration gameplay, but not as fast-paced as many people would expect.

    TL;DR version: Exploration-platformer fans: don't expect a fully developed Metroidvania (at least not in this first chapter, maybe for the next one). Point-n-click adventure fans: give it a try, you might like it. Indie enthusiast: this definitely worth a $10 price!    … Expand
  8. fartheststar
    Jun 29, 2014
    8
    The Fall is an engaging thoughtful game. It plays like part point/click adventure and part 2D shooter. The game has a heavy atmospheric element and interesting visual style in it's apocalyptic setting, and has some keenly insightful moments around artificial intelligence, choice, human interaction with AI, and even insight into how AI might cognitively interact w/ humans. I give the game aThe Fall is an engaging thoughtful game. It plays like part point/click adventure and part 2D shooter. The game has a heavy atmospheric element and interesting visual style in it's apocalyptic setting, and has some keenly insightful moments around artificial intelligence, choice, human interaction with AI, and even insight into how AI might cognitively interact w/ humans. I give the game a solid 7.5 and rounded up to 8 as this is a fun game worth playing and stands out vs. some others I've played. The only negatives I encountered were a) that the controls were a little difficult for me to work with - nothing bad, but a tad awkward - b) a small gameplay bug (devs were making patches as I was playing and fixed this), and c) a couple of the point/click solutions were a little odd. Nothing to detract from the game too much, but like in many adventure games there's a couple times where you have to do some odd things to make the story progress. But overall this was a thoughtful game w/ strong story and some good moments where you will wish there was another way.... Many times I wouldn't do what the game was wanting me to do because I was trying to find another way to proceed, but there simply is no other way. This forced action perspective helped highlight the difference between real choice, and constraint based artificial intelligence. I knew what my character had to do, even though I didn't want it to happen in some cases. In summary: Engaging game, with strong atmosphere and artistic approach, with a thoughtful story. If you have interest give this a try.… Expand
  9. scorp18
    Jul 18, 2017
    9
    Very good game. I would describe it as something between Flashback (action sequences), Swapper (environment and atmosphere) and Point-n-click gameplay. The graphics are dark and nice, although the brighter light in the center could be avoided, the sound is good and the gameplay is nice and simple. The general atmosphere of the game is one of abandonment and desperation (the fact that theVery good game. I would describe it as something between Flashback (action sequences), Swapper (environment and atmosphere) and Point-n-click gameplay. The graphics are dark and nice, although the brighter light in the center could be avoided, the sound is good and the gameplay is nice and simple. The general atmosphere of the game is one of abandonment and desperation (the fact that the later comes from a A.I. makes it even stronger).
    The plot becomes more interesting as you proceed in the game and the best part is the ending. What's also interesting is that everything is shown from the A.I.'s point of view.
    What I found a bit annoying was that I had to move the flashlight of the "suit" up and down very often in order to find the interaction points... Other than that, the game is nearly perfect. I'd say 9/10.

    Recommended!    … Expand
  10. Matseb2611
    May 11, 2015
    5
    Disappointing. I was lured in to try this game due to its very nice and atmospheric visual style and the premise. However, the nature of its puzzles is way too ambiguous and makes no logical sense whatsoever. You end up resorting to walking around the area and trying to interact with everything to see if it works, and when you've had enough of that, you start digging through theDisappointing. I was lured in to try this game due to its very nice and atmospheric visual style and the premise. However, the nature of its puzzles is way too ambiguous and makes no logical sense whatsoever. You end up resorting to walking around the area and trying to interact with everything to see if it works, and when you've had enough of that, you start digging through the walkthroughs. The progression of most things you do doesn't make sense. For example, I was told I had to do a series of tests. However, my character was unable to accept it until I walked into a nearby room and looked at a human corpse. No idea why it wasn't possible to just accept the test without having to do something as pointless and obscure as that.

    There are some gun fights present too, which I enjoyed. The cover system is cool and some special abilities, like the cloak, is pretty neat too. These sections are too spaced apart, however, and majority of the game just consists of silly puzzles, so if you're after something faster-paced, best to look elsewhere.    … Expand
  11. austinkeeley
    Aug 15, 2014
    7
    I bought this game for the atmosphere and to support indie adventure game development. It was enjoyable, but there were a few things that distracted me. First, the action sequences felt very out of place. While the game is mostly a LucasArts-style point and click adventure, you'll be occasionally thrown into a gun battle. These sequences don't really add anything to the game and theyI bought this game for the atmosphere and to support indie adventure game development. It was enjoyable, but there were a few things that distracted me. First, the action sequences felt very out of place. While the game is mostly a LucasArts-style point and click adventure, you'll be occasionally thrown into a gun battle. These sequences don't really add anything to the game and they aren't challenging. Your health regenerates and there's very little chance of dying.

    The keyboard-mouse controls were also a little questionable. You don't get a mouse cursor on screen, so all your clicking needs to be navigated with your flashlight and this can feel very strange at first.

    There were a few neat elements that I liked, but weren't fully explored in this game. Your character has the ability to "network" with various objects in game. This element is used so rarely in the game, that it's almost an afterthought and I was disappointed that there aren't more puzzles that use it.

    The atmosphere of the game and the overall look and feel is nicely done. I particularly like how certain parts of the game force your user interface to pseudo-glitch. I was expecting a lot of jump-scares, but thankfully, there were only a few jumpy moments; the majority of the game's tension was built up by the environment and interaction between the (very few) main characters.    … Expand
  12. rogermorse
    Aug 26, 2014
    6
    BEWARE IT IS MEANT TO BE AN EPISODE

    It is not written in the description, but this looks like an 'Episode 1' (there even is the achievement of finishing 'episode 1')....and the game ends on TO BE CONTINUED. Although the ending can still be an ending (no cliffhanger trick, not too big at least), looks like the story is not really finished, but if this is an episode, they should have    BEWARE IT IS MEANT TO BE AN EPISODE

    It is not written in the description, but this looks like an 'Episode 1' (there even is the achievement of finishing 'episode 1')....and the game ends on TO BE CONTINUED.

    Although the ending can still be an ending (no cliffhanger trick, not too big at least), looks like the story is not really finished, but if this is an episode, they should have written. It is very short (less than 4 hours with everything explored). 10 euros is a lot, and the game is not that rich in content anyway.

    Controls are VERY bulky (mouse and keyboard, didn't try controller), graphics are not very characteristic, animations are sticky and design in general is not very descriptive. Atmosphere though is there. The Swapper is a similar game that was able to achieve more in terms of graphics, animations and design (and, for my taste, plot and atmosphere).

    The Fall looks a bit flat, boring, although it is still a good game, it just doesn't look polished enough. Voice acting was the best thing of the game. 60/100    … Expand
  13. lorddragonstar
    Jul 5, 2014
    3
    I played this game using a keyboard and a gamepad (xbox pad) and the controls are poor - responsiveness is stiff and delayed in both cases but I found it to be a little easier to play with a gamepad due to the funky keys/combination presses and holds you need to use.

    There are bugs, really crazy bugs. The game crashed twice on me in my single play through and several times I would    I played this game using a keyboard and a gamepad (xbox pad) and the controls are poor - responsiveness is stiff and delayed in both cases but I found it to be a little easier to play with a gamepad due to the funky keys/combination presses and holds you need to use.

    There are bugs, really crazy bugs. The game crashed twice on me in my single play through and several times I would start floating through the level ending up in random locations. Also, sometimes when an area loaded I would not be able to control the character at all except for moving around (no shooting/jumping/flashlight/stealth/etc.).

    The puzzles are basic - use a thing on this thing to get to the next place. It never really goes beyond that but due to level design you often need to walk around looking for the thing or the place to use the thing for a long time, backtracking is often needed.
    The combat is not as good as I was lead to believe. You have a gun, just one, as your weapon and there's only a few different enemy types in the whole game. You can also stealth, but you can't move when stealth. It feels very lacking.

    The game is short. Really short, which is good because if the boring combat and tedious puzzles went on much longer I think I would have just quit.

    The only really good part of the game is the story and the voice acting, which is excellent except for 3 tremendous flaws. It is absolutely linear which is fine, but you are given "choices" that aren't choices - you must take one specific action to move forward - don't present false choices to me. The overall plot is obvious. Finally, the game/story is incomplete - WAAAAAY incomplete. It felt like just when I was ready for the real story to come into play, it was suddenly over. Booooo!

    There's very little redeeming value here, I picked it up on a steam sale and it still wasn't worth it. Fellow game player, don't make the mistake I've already payed for. Move on, find better games and adventures out there in the digisphere.    … Expand
  14. reeze
    Jul 9, 2014
    2
    Really enjoyed the little that was in it. Way too short to be any price at all. I feel completely cheated. Despite having a nice atmosphere, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. They should have marketed it as an episodic adventure series, as opposed to cheating people out of their money for what, in all rights, should have been a teaser or demo. So so short, really not worth it.
  15. dajhorn
    Feb 22, 2018
    2
    The Fall is a tiresome game with awkward controls and illogical puzzles. The authors had a story and atmosphere in mind, but failed to plug any fun into the equation.
  16. joshxdr
    Aug 16, 2014
    6
    The Fall is a 2-d point-and-click adventure game with some action/platform elements. The ambiance and story were very inventive, and the voice acting in general was surprisingly good. It works better as a story than as a game. The game is a little bit buggy for me, sometimes my guy would get stuck and I had to restart the game. Since this is an indy game this is not a huge surprise. TheThe Fall is a 2-d point-and-click adventure game with some action/platform elements. The ambiance and story were very inventive, and the voice acting in general was surprisingly good. It works better as a story than as a game. The game is a little bit buggy for me, sometimes my guy would get stuck and I had to restart the game. Since this is an indy game this is not a huge surprise. The story is a very dark sci-fi tale in a kind of post-apocalyptic setting. The action and platforming elements were not great, the controls were just not tight enough for a good action game experience. For sci-fi adventure game fans, this game is worth a look. If you are expecting a good 2-d action game, best to move on to The Swapper, or Braid, or Fly'n, or Trine, or even Bastion.… Expand
  17. TrottingHotly
    Aug 25, 2014
    5
    This game starts strong, with a mysterious intro and an innovative search mechanic. The character of ARID feels real throughout. Unfortunately, the spooky atmosphere is broken by glitches and what feels like hasty design. This game appears to be a Kickstarter darling that didn't quite deliver.

    If you will be overly annoyed by occasionally climbing the wrong ladder to nowhere,    This game starts strong, with a mysterious intro and an innovative search mechanic. The character of ARID feels real throughout. Unfortunately, the spooky atmosphere is broken by glitches and what feels like hasty design. This game appears to be a Kickstarter darling that didn't quite deliver.

    If you will be overly annoyed by occasionally climbing the wrong ladder to nowhere, occasionally being unable to use cover, or definitely having to stumble through a climactic fight with strange automatic walking and a disappearing environment, don't bother. The control scheme was interesting at first, but quickly became tedious. The choice of controller button mappings for interacting or firing a weapon were a bit odd. Aiming the gun didn't allow for sufficiently fine control. The interaction mechanic required holding down one button while navigating options with the analog stick just previously used for aiming/looking. That aside, after using a walk through for the obtuse puzzles and one absolutely unavoidable glitch, this was an enjoyable but somewhat short game that asked more questions than it answered, leaving room for a superior sequel. Good world building, sloppy execution.    … Expand
  18. Ted_Tris
    Mar 29, 2015
    2
    Awfully boring.
    Nothing he does not have mood.
    The control and the object usage part are terrible.

    Awfully boring.
    Nothing he does not have mood.
    The control and the object usage part are terrible.
  19. ewenr
    Jun 30, 2020
    4
    Over simplistic game with very little to do. Did not enjoy.. but it looks pretty enough.
  20. ezeric007
    Sep 3, 2015
    7
    I thought the game looked interesting so I purchased it. On a positive note, this game has great sound effects, beautiful artwork, and a really interesting story. I found myself getting lost in this games puzzles and story for hours. Some of the negative aspects of this game are the terrible mechanics, and has poor A.I. capabilities. The logic for the dialog is very 2 dimension whichI thought the game looked interesting so I purchased it. On a positive note, this game has great sound effects, beautiful artwork, and a really interesting story. I found myself getting lost in this games puzzles and story for hours. Some of the negative aspects of this game are the terrible mechanics, and has poor A.I. capabilities. The logic for the dialog is very 2 dimension which hearkens back to the days of 8 bit, 16 bit , and 32 bit games. In addition, some of the puzzles make no sense and have terrible logic as well. The game only allows the user to solve an issue 1 way which I thought was pure laziness on the developers part. Overall its still fun to play, and well worth the 10 bucks.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

86
#86 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 22, 2014
    80
    My new favorite proof that you can create a cinematic experience without millions of dollars and photorealistic visuals. [10/2014, p.67]
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 17, 2014
    79
    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]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Aug 27, 2014
    70
    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.
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