Review: Primordia

Goutham Jayaraman

Ravencrow Game Review #10

 

Primordia

https://store.steampowered.com/app/227000/Primordia/

Genre	Point and Click
Platform	PC
Developer	Wormwood Studios
Publisher	Wadjet Eye Games
Playtime	7.5 hours
Date Completed	15/5/2021
Date Reviewed	16/5/2021
Overall Grade	S

 

Primordia is a point and click game set in an interesting apocalyptic universe where humans have gone extinct and robots live as sentient beings. It follows the journey of Horatio Nullbuilt as he tries to reclaim a lost power core but ends up getting tangled into something much bigger.

What I liked

-          The setting of the game

-          The characters, who were not only humorous but also had great chemistry with one another.

-          Actually appreciated the puzzle design

What I disliked

-          Just felt short

-          Story felt a little bit lacking

Gameplay 21/20	+ Standard point and click game mechanics, with your partner serving as an interactive object. + Decent interactivity + Some choices you made actually affected the characters and world, and in turn your gameplay experience. Quite good for a point and click game + Solid laughs from various points in the game
Game Design 19/20	+ Very clever puzzle design + Puzzles had a good sense of nonlinearity. + Puzzles had different ways of going about them, which I found to be impressive + Presence of data pouch which conveniently recorded down all critical information whilst blending seamlessly in with the game’s aesthetic = Difficulty is high, but puzzles are always logical = Hint system was present, but could have been implemented better. It was in the form of talking to Crispin (Your partner), but what he said was usually quite random and not always relevant. However, the hints he did give certainly help nudge the player in the right direction.
Graphics 19/20	+ Well-drawn pixel art graphics create a good sense of the intended apocalyptic setting. + Lively characters and NPCs, including those that randomly move about the city = Rather dull color palette chosen, but I would assume that was an intentional decision to add to the dystopian feel - Low resolution
Audio 20/20	+ Relatively minimalistic and good soundtrack that sets the mood and blends into the background + High quality voice acting
Story 15/20	= Story is rather basic and not that interesting despite the setting, but still gets the job done + Good character development and interactions gave the story depth and made it more exciting and engaging + Has multiple endings, though only one is decently satisfying - Feels way too short
Lore 18/20	+ Lore was interesting right off the bat, considering it involves human extinction and robot sentience + Information about the world is provided via an information terminal + Important NPCs have their own backstories to tell - However, I felt like the lore was not explored sufficiently. There are still too many unanswered questions left at the game’s ending - Concept of life is awkward (death of characters lacks weight, makes story less tense)
Value 18/20	- Short game length + Some amount of replayability in getting all the achievements and attempting different puzzle routes + The special puzzle design provides a unique gameplay experience + Overall, quite worth the asking price + Developer Commentary
Overall Grade 18/20	S
Score	90

 

Overall, Primordia is a small but highly interesting point and click game which fans will appreciate playing. For me, I definitely enjoyed playing the game and also felt it was better than the other point and clicks I was playing simultaneously, mainly thanks to its lively voice acting, character design and branching puzzle routes, which is not commonly seen in such games.

The humor and character interactions were also top notch, making up somewhat for the otherwise average story.

My biggest complaints revolve around the game’s short length (you always wish the good games were longer) and how one very important piece of lore was never fully addressed properly. I also had some difficulty solving the puzzles and had to rely on a walkthrough for some of them, but I still feel like they were well designed, especially considering the different approaches you could take to solving some of them.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this little gem of a game, even at its full price. It will sit as one of the more memorable entries in your point and click collection and even has significant merit in a second playthrough down the road.