DeVuego PR_ES | PRensa ESpañola de Videojuegos

While it may look simple on the surface, switching between characters reveals some careful design that’s appreciated

To be clear, I’m not a fan of these sorts of games for quite a variety of reasons, but I do review them for the sake of being thorough and trying to see them through the lens of those who I think are interested in buying them. The first most common issue is that, just like this example, the gameplay attached to most of them tends to be pretty threadbare. I have at least respected some exceptions like Senran Kagura Peach Ball and the likes of the Gal*Gun series, which managed to be pretty pervy and weird but at least brought a little more to the table than some mere titillation. Another problem is that in the modern world, where adult content of just about any form is available without even expending effort, why shy away from making the most of the rating you’ve opted for? If you’re in the business to make weirdo pervy games, just make them. If you’re going to make a middling-at-best play experience, and then also have the rewards for your investment of money and then time be so restrained, it just feels like a bait and switch.

The thing is, I’ve played games like this before, and even ones with more issues, but to some degree I’m more inclined to pick on it because of how it tries to push itself on the eShop. In many ways, language like “Teared is not just a game; it is an immersive journey where dynamic 3D landscapes are combined with intense gameplay in the purest retro style” feels plain cynical or at least deceiving, and that doesn’t sit well with me. It actually reminds me of the old days, where you’d find game boxes on the shelf to look through and some companies would notoriously use overblown cover art or even doctored images to try to lure people in, rather than making a game whose quality spoke for itself. Aside from being implemented poorly, Teared suffers in the end from being relatively simplistic and dull, and not even its budget price can make up for those faults.

I’m not so sure I’d go with any implication that Tales from Candleforth delivers actual horror so much as some grim and dark themes, as well as some very creepy moments and imagery. Overall I’d say the sense of mystery was more on my mind, but with the game’s overall hand-drawn look being a bit Burton-esque in many regards you do get a very dark tone to everything. The shame is that while the story seems like an interesting one overall, the ending failed to help it all end on a high note, instead a bit more of a confusing one. As the game’s title implies there are many tales, hopefully we’ll get more in the future that can help either deepen the mystery or at least give this chapter a more clear conclusion. It may not be firing quite on all cylinders, but it does at least make for a pretty satisfying time up to that point.

Perhaps if this were the only game in town for this sort of thrill it would demand a better score, but even with some of the flaws Ravenous Devils had as one example of a competitor it still felt more successful. It isn’t quite enough to just be dark and a bit shocking, the gameplay really needs to have a flow to it so even as it can be repetitive you still feel locked into what you’re doing. Here, the controls not being quite ideal gets in the way primarily, eclipsing the concerns with pacing as the game’s primary obstacle. There’s something to enjoy here if you’re patient, but the gameplay isn’t where it needs to be to make the experience more memorable.