The Fall Part 2: Unbound
A great sci-fi sequel, exploring topic of AI and their limitations (or lack of them?..).
Quite some time ago, I fumbled upon an interesting looking game, The Fall. A 2D side scroller adventure, with a very interesting premise. You control an AI in a high tech suit, trying to save the human inside it, after an accident. You have 1 instruction as the AI - protect the human. You are also limited by your programming - you can’t just do whatever you do, you have boundaries. But you are forced with a dilemma - your priority is to save him. Does it justify breaking the rules? It touches a very interesting subject, and force you to think. You justify your actions and do everything to achieve your goal.
To not get stuck in talking about the first game, I’ll just say that the sequel is similar. The gameplay is a mix of an adventure game, puzzler and a little bit of action. What is defining though, is the constant topic of AI, which is expanded even more this time.
The game asks difficult question - having an internal monologue with yourself, but also interacting with other AIs. What is unique, is that those topics (and finding solutions to problems that arise) is not easy at all - figuring out what to do and what you need to achieve (or rather how) requires a lot of attention to what happens (no, you cannot storm through it without listening to the dialogues, duh) and move your brain cells for proper solutions. Analyzing the technicalities of AIs, human emotions and reactions (and how to manipulate them) and understanding new futuristic concepts - is a great part of the game. It makes it really deep and builds an amazing story.
It’s also about exploration - you need to interact a lot with your environment, finding interesting spots and things that are important to progress the story. All things that you can interact with, are always described with a comment, which gives another layer of narration to it - which I really liked. It also gives another layer in terms of “use X on Y” - it’s not only items you find, but only information (or even emotions!) you gather throughout.
But what is different than in the previous one? Obviously, the story is quite different, as it continues the previous one - and I don’t want to spoil too much. This time, you are in danger - you, the AI, not the human you protect. And you want to save yourself. You’re actually travelling through a network, trying to found out a way to help yourself and what is really happening. You find a way to connect to other AIs.. and this is where the game shines. You get a bit of control over them, while also creating a discussion with them. They are all interesting, having different programming and totally different perspective on the world. What the game is about is trying to understand their perspective and convince them to help you. Which won’t be easy! The story shines in this area - getting to know their perspective and then trying to use proper arguments to show yours is really amazing. As you progress, you will connect with them even more, and be able to use multiple perspectives to solve the challenges. This really opens up a lot of situations, but also requires a lot of understanding which one should be used - it doesn’t make the game easier ;)
I also mentioned a little bit of action - there is some shooting fights, but they are more “platformer” based, as you actually have autolock on enemies. But the important part is dodging, shooting when they are vulnerable and managing your stamina. But fear not - this is not a shooter at all. I think it adds something to the story (and is actually showing the danger you’re in) and it’s not added just to be there. The game is still about the story, but those action moments is creating a good pacing.
For people liking a sci-fi theme, and not afraid of some deep discussions about perceiving the world and different perspectives on things - I totally recommend it.
My rating: 8/10
Playtime: 7h
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The Fall Part 2: Unbound on Steam