The Long Reach

 Switch
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 24
  3. Negative: 4 out of 24

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  1. HaikuReview
    Mar 21, 2018
    5
    .......
    Try hard dialogue
    No logic to most puzzles
    Spooky tedium
    ......
  2. jobythedog
    Aug 9, 2018
    5
    I came into this game knowing it had poor reviews. It was on sale for $5 and I decided to give it a shot since I was drawn in by its art style, music and trailer for the game. For $15, I can't recommend this game. For $5...maybe. I would probably give this game a 4/10, but I think it deserves an extra point for being a debut game from Painted Black.

    I'd like to talk about the good, the    I came into this game knowing it had poor reviews. It was on sale for $5 and I decided to give it a shot since I was drawn in by its art style, music and trailer for the game. For $15, I can't recommend this game. For $5...maybe. I would probably give this game a 4/10, but I think it deserves an extra point for being a debut game from Painted Black.

    I'd like to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly in this game.

    The Good:
    - Great consistent art style with great lighting effects.
    - Music was fantastic during certain scenes and would give me goose bumps.
    - interesting story.
    - Genuine spooks from a pixel art game? You bet.

    The Bad:
    - Music could be better. Instead of songs looping back to themselves, they tend to have a hard stop and a restart. This makes you feel like you've been trying to solve a puzzle for longer than intended.
    - Anticlimactic death. This could be fixed by some screen shake, a change in music, and a more inspired death screen.
    - A few annoying bugs here and there, but nothing that would make the game unplayable.
    - Puzzles seemed to lack logic most of the time, but most of the challenge was wondering around trying to find objects to use. It's a bad feeling running around the entire area only to backtrack to see a very small object you missed.

    The Ugly:
    - As many have stated before, the dialogue is dreadful. I thought I could move past this since there wasn't any voice acting, but I found myself audibly yelling at the game to shut up.
    - Gameplay was tedious and boring. You have the ability to sprint, but you can't use it when looking for a new object to glow yellow since you're basically always looking for an object that glows yellow, and you can often miss it if you are running.

    Overall, I really wish I enjoyed The Long Reach more. This game has potential, but it is ruined by terrible dialogue, tedious gameplay, illogical puzzles and spotty sound design. The game is only saved from a completely negative review because of its pleasing art direction, some memorable music moments, interesting story and conclusion. I hope Painted Black Games can return with a game with a similar aesthetic, but better writing and gameplay.    … Expand
  3. ZeFat
    Jun 8, 2019
    8
    Got this game for the Switch, for 1,59€ (currently at discount on the store at around 4€) gotta say its a short story, but its a damn good one. I got capture by the game's vibe. The music is well balanced, but at one part the "creepy music" didn't fit what it was shown. I loved the dialogue options there's a few that actually made me chuckle.

    But be aware this game is mostly for people    Got this game for the Switch, for 1,59€ (currently at discount on the store at around 4€) gotta say its a short story, but its a damn good one. I got capture by the game's vibe. The music is well balanced, but at one part the "creepy music" didn't fit what it was shown. I loved the dialogue options there's a few that actually made me chuckle.

    But be aware this game is mostly for people who like the story 1st and gameplay after, it's more of a light novel with intractable parts. The puzzle parts are mediocre at best but captivating towards the story and interactions with the main character. The gameplay itself is rather straight forward and easy.

    In perspective its worth trying at least just for the story. I'll expect more games like this in the future but longer and actually hard to solve some of the puzzles, love these type of games.    … Expand
  4. Metalmike87
    Sep 2, 2019
    3
    Didn't like the game, maybe it just wasn't for me but i tried to beat this as fast as i could so i couldn't never play it again
  5. Kilroy_is_here
    Apr 15, 2018
    1
    The first half hour of this game started off with so much promise. I loved the art style of the game and the story seemed interesting, even though not original. But the enjoyment of this game is short lived.

    This game is the worst game I've played on the switch to date. It's not the generic story or poor dialogue that ruined the experiance for me, it's the game breaking bugs that have    The first half hour of this game started off with so much promise. I loved the art style of the game and the story seemed interesting, even though not original. But the enjoyment of this game is short lived.

    This game is the worst game I've played on the switch to date. It's not the generic story or poor dialogue that ruined the experiance for me, it's the game breaking bugs that have plagued my experience. I've had multiple freeze ups where I had to exit the game and restart it, etc. Sadly, I've even had to try and load my saved game multiple times, because it would free during the loading screen.

    I would not consider this game or a game from this developer again. This is clearly a fast as possible port job, that the devs spent little to no time performing any quality control checks on. Unfortunately, it's to late for me to get my money back. I hope its not to late for you.    … Expand
  6. BusinessCat
    Jan 2, 2019
    0
    Score: 0 - Would not play again. Would not recommend. Would talk someone else out of wasting their precious time.

    Gameplay style: This is an exploration game where you walk left or right in long rooms and use doors to enter and explore other rooms. There are limited items to interact with and fetch-like puzzles. I've played games with this style before, and this one was easier to    Score: 0 - Would not play again. Would not recommend. Would talk someone else out of wasting their precious time.

    Gameplay style: This is an exploration game where you walk left or right in long rooms and use doors to enter and explore other rooms. There are limited items to interact with and fetch-like puzzles.

    I've played games with this style before, and this one was easier to play in terms of finding the items and combining/using items. It helps that all the items you can interact with highlight.

    About 1-2 hours in i asked myself "wait, what is going on" because it wasn't 100% clear why people were losing their minds and how this incident spread and effected the entire planet, or if that was even real. It was unclear and it was never answered and the game ends suddenly.

    Even though it was easy to play, the story drags this down all the way. In a world with so many games and so little time, put your time somewhere else.    … Expand
  7. Mason1969
    Oct 2, 2018
    10
    A good pixel art adventure game. Although the game was short-lived, personally I find the game as I would expect it from watching the trailer. Highly recommended game just for playing on the side
  8. Pachuli1981
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    Una original aventura gráfica con un argumento que te atrapara hasta el final y un interesante apartado artístico.
  9. General_Tzu
    Sep 3, 2019
    10
    A messed up game with a messed up ending. I love it! The story line is bizarre and entertaining. I bought it on sale and wasn't disappointed. Probably only worth the playthrough once, but it was AWESOME!
  10. haemarthyme
    Mar 22, 2018
    8
    A good pixel art adventure game, quite in the same vein as Lone Survivor. Puzzles are well done, some requiring more leaps of logic than others, but attention to detail is the key. Graphically, the game is put together well. In gameplay, you might run into enemies that do not path as they should unless you trigger some kind of event or alarm. The hiding mechanic works well, however youA good pixel art adventure game, quite in the same vein as Lone Survivor. Puzzles are well done, some requiring more leaps of logic than others, but attention to detail is the key. Graphically, the game is put together well. In gameplay, you might run into enemies that do not path as they should unless you trigger some kind of event or alarm. The hiding mechanic works well, however you cannot sprint very fast so plan ahead.
    Overall, The Long Reach is a good first game, and a solid adventure title. I would recommend picking it up if you want a fun story, dialogue that is fun (to me at least,) and a game that will make you think.    … Expand
  11. luckymasie
    Nov 14, 2019
    10
    I can not give this game enough praise. Amazing story, creative characters and well built puzzles are just the tip of the iceberg. The long reach will keep your attention from beginning to end, and is somber and scary at all the right places. I only noticed a single glitch during the hours I played it, and it was a minimal one. It has the unique quality of drawing you into the story, andI can not give this game enough praise. Amazing story, creative characters and well built puzzles are just the tip of the iceberg. The long reach will keep your attention from beginning to end, and is somber and scary at all the right places. I only noticed a single glitch during the hours I played it, and it was a minimal one. It has the unique quality of drawing you into the story, and is definitely a must-buy for anyone that enjoys point-and-click or horror games.… Expand
  12. mibuenzora
    Dec 9, 2019
    7
    A spooky and atmospheric adventure game with just the right amount of story and puzzles. If you're not into slow paced, cryptic sci-fi storytelling, you probably won't like it. However, the excellent pixel art might by just enough to keep you hooked!
  13. Anonime
    Jul 10, 2020
    7
    I bought this game for an offer without knowing anything about it and I must say that I expected more, but even so, it performed quite well.

    Visually I really liked it, it has a very nice pixelart. The moments of tension achieved their purpose with me, although I did not notice the fear I expected to find. The story is a big smoke, which is not a bad thing. And the music and setting do    I bought this game for an offer without knowing anything about it and I must say that I expected more, but even so, it performed quite well.

    Visually I really liked it, it has a very nice pixelart. The moments of tension achieved their purpose with me, although I did not notice the fear I expected to find. The story is a big smoke, which is not a bad thing. And the music and setting do well.

    In general, very happy.    … Expand
  14. Redwheel
    Aug 27, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Idea of the storytelling is ... just not good. From the beginning, buy some food, then just someone come.and kill all ? And why ?. and then we are again in some lab ? What we doing there ? I must sadly say, bad managed. But, however, amazing soundtrack and creepy atmosphere, little psychological story after all. And items, what you will found, some of them are hard to use. I mean, its hard to find out how and where to use it.
    Thats all For me, 5 score    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Switch Player
    Apr 20, 2018
    60
    The Long Reach is a fantastic debut from developer Painted Black Games in terms of presentation, but its lacking story (or explanation thereof) and technical hiccups hold it back. If you fancy a short horror experience with sleek, pixel art visuals and classic point and click elements, it's worth giving it a try.
    Read full review
  2. Nintendo Insider
    Apr 8, 2018
    60
    If you’re easily frustrated you will probably give up way before the four or so hours it takes to beat the game, which is a shame because it’s a title that has something to give.
    Read full review
  3. Nintenderos
    Mar 23, 2018
    65
    The greatness of this game relies on its willfulness, trying to carry out a project full of tension, characteristic of the madness and the dilemmas of the science fiction genre. To accomplish that, they introduce insane characters, capable of causing real apprehension, especially accentuated by a good soundtrack. Sadly, all these great ideas fail to amaze us due to a simplistic level design and because it's deprived of terror.
    Read full review
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