[Analysis] 'The Fall'

There are those who like science fiction and those who are indifferent to the genre. In the first group we find all types of people, from those who only access the genre in its most accessible and popular branch such as cinema, to those who also consume large doses of sci-fi in the form of comics, books and video games. I have been among the multi-consumers of science fiction since I was very young. I am passionate about space and everything related to it, and I have always been attracted to the idea of ​​other civilizations, intelligent life on planets orbiting distant stars in the galaxy, or even beings with powers comparable to those of a god observing the entire universe like someone boredly watching an insect fight for its survival. It is for this reason that when I first saw The Fall I fell in love with its visual section and its approach to the story that it proposes for us to experience.

The Fall It originated from the desire of programmer and designer John Warner to create a video game with a lot of emphasis on its atmosphere and that is different from what has been seen until now. Did he achieve it? It depends on each person's point of view, although in my opinion it has achieved its objective.

John Warner founded the developer Over the Moon based in Vancouver, Canada, and decided to make his project a reality by seeking financing on the already more than popular platform. Kickstarter. With a modest minimum goal of 17,000 Canadian dollars to begin development and be released for PC and Mac, the project went on to raise $38,155, which surpassed other additional goals aimed at adding voices, improving the audio, translating the text into different languages ​​(including Spanish) and also being released on Linux and Wii U.

The only goal it has not reached is the launch on additional platforms, which include PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One and, as they clarify, “possibly Ouya.” The costs for the launch on these platforms according to the developer are high, because the fundraising goal was 65,000 Canadian dollars, quite far from the number it has achieved, so for now the launch on Sony and Microsoft devices is an abandoned matter, and remains a possibility only if the title raises enough with its sales on the platforms on which it is currently available.

And even more important: the priority of investing profits is currently placed on the two sequels that this game will have, because yes, although the title says nothing and there are no elements that hint at it, this game will have two more episodes if everything goes well and sales continue. The story of The Fall Since its origins on Kickstarter, it is designed to be told in 3 episodes.

Since the arrival of the first computer equipment until today, the advancement that technology has experienced is overwhelming. There are too many things that rely on technology these days, even things that before people didn't need or do any other way, and now if they don't do it with a smartphone or a computer they feel unable to do it or simply ignore other ways. Almost without really realizing what we are doing, we talk to our cell phones to ask for directions on how to get to a certain place, or we use a GPS interface to guide us to a point, and we blindly follow those instructions, omitting our sense of direction, or the most basic thing since we have the ability to communicate: asking another person how to get there. We are advancing in the field of robotics with artificial intelligence systems, and even experimenting so that these robots can have facial expressions. Soon we will also have something that may even cause controversy, such as cars that are driven automatically by a computerized system. Can you imagine getting into one, telling it a destination, and having it drive itself there? It is something fascinating and not far from being fulfilled, but at the same time it is terrifying, because you would be leaving your life in the hands of a computer going out onto a street, or worse still, onto a highway where hundreds of other people will be doing the same thing.

To what extent will we depend on technology and artificial intelligence? In science fiction in general and following the pattern demonstrated so far in our reality, technological advance is shown as an unstoppable race, sometimes resulting in technologies that greatly improve the quality of life and other times reaching destructive extremes for human beings. In The Fall We will experience something of this relationship that I mentioned before between humans and computer systems in which we are literally entrusting our lives to artificial intelligence.

According to its creator, the game is inspired by 3 industry classics, taking the exploration element from Super Metroid, the interactivity of the saga Monkey Island, and the atmosphere of Limbo. I quite agree that the result has elements of those games, although I feel that it is necessary to name one of the classics with which it also shares a lot, and that is Another World (also known as Out of this World)

The first thing we see when starting the game is a crude menu, similar to the MS-DOS interface of a personal computer from the 1980s, shown through the graphic representation of a curved CRT screen with cracked glass, deforming the text a little and making it not 100% readable, although we will have no problems reading it. It should be noted that The language that the game defaults to for text is English., and it does not change it automatically according to the configuration of your console, so if you want to play it in Spanish you will have to go to settings and you will find a single option in there that will allow you to switch between the available languages.

As we begin our adventure we will see what appears to be a human dressed in a space suit falling at high speed through space on a collision course with an unknown planet. Upon passing through the atmosphere and almost reaching the surface, we can see how a light illuminates its helmet and a feminine and robotic voice announces the activation of an antimatter shield to protect itself from the collision with the ground.

Very soon we will learn that that voice is that of the artificial intelligence system that possesses the suit, and that its primary instruction (among others) is to keep the person wearing it alive regardless of the circumstances. This artificial intelligence calls itself A.R.I.D.(Armored Robotics Interface Device, robotic armor system interface) and has the power to completely control the movement of the suit in the event the host suffers an incapacitating injury or becomes unconscious. Thus, after the impact that it has left us in some underground facilities, A.R.I.D. He runs a systems scan to determine the health status of his, let's say, pilot, and finds that the monitoring system is damaged and other functions are disabled, so when he cannot verify the health of his pilot but notices that he does not move of his own volition, he decides to take control of the suit and explore the place to get urgent medical help.

And this is how our 2D lateral exploration begins. wearing a suit that controls itself through a computer system and with a human inside whom we know very little except that at the moment he cannot move or communicate, and could be unconscious as well as dead.

The Fall It starts with a little platforming and a lot of graphic adventure point & click, and although as you progress further into the game some elements of the genre will be incorporated shooter, he point & click is the main genre of this adventure and the rest are nothing more than seasonings to give you variety and keep you entertained. I don't want to be misunderstood, the latter is not a bad thing, but on the contrary, to experience a good story like the one this game gives us, there is no better genre than the graphic adventure.

The story of The Fall It's intriguing from the start, and generates just enough interest to keep you wanting to know more about what's happening, who the pilot inside the suit is, why you fell to this planet, and what planet it is. You will encounter another human with a suit like yours, but he is dead and crucified although his suit is still active and you will be able to establish a network connection to communicate with him. What has happened here? Why is that human dead and crucified? Who is that hostile robot that you encounter at a certain moment and wants to recycle you and format your system? Can you trust the facility's central computer, which plans to help you escape from there and get to the place where your pilot will receive medical help? Is he really helping you or having fun with you? Why does it imitate the way a human speaks, including its expressiveness?

Many questions are generated as you advance in the game and learn about the story, either by interrogating the place's own central computer, or through texts scattered throughout different places in the form of notes, notebooks or diaries. Questions are also beginning to arise, such as to what extent can one stretch the rules without breaking them? If you have an objective to achieve, and you must go through a process to reach that objective but you modify the circumstances for your own benefit and thus skip the entire process and still obtain the same result, can the objective be considered met? ¿El fin justifica los medios?

Algunos de los interrogantes vienen planteados por el hecho de que la propia A.R.I.D. se pregunta sobre la validez de sus acciones, ya que en ocasiones deberá romper las reglas para cumplir su función principal de garantizar la supervivencia de su piloto. De esta forma, The Fall juega con los límites a los que puede llegar una inteligencia artificial para cumplir una tarea manteniéndose dentro de ciertos parámetros que limitan su libre albedrío, y recuerda en diversos aspectos a algunas historias de autores clásicos de literatura del género como Isaac Asimov o Philip K. Dick.

Gráficamente estamos ante un título más que decente, con buenas físicas y animación, muy buenos efectos de iluminación, pero escenarios y texturas simples por el hecho de que estaremos siempre en ambientes oscuros, siendo más iluminados y coloridos que en Limbo pero mucho más oscuros que en Super Metroid. Lo más importante es la atmósfera que llega a lograr, perfecta para la historia que experimentaremos, y que se nota que ha sido tratada con mimo. Tienes una linterna con la que explorar los escenarios a medida que caminas y con la que podrás iluminar puntos interactivos en los que realizar alguna acción, como hablar, recoger un objeto, conectarte en red, o usar alguno de los ítems que hayas recolectado en tu camino. Más adelante también adquirirás un arma funcional, puesto que al comenzar tienes una pero está rota, y con ella podrás defenderte de robots o criaturas hostiles.

El sistema de control es bastante simple, aunque el juego es mucho más intuitivo de controlar en PC gracias al uso del mouse, ya que en Wii U algunos de los botones están asignados de forma incómoda, como por ejemplo cambiar desde la mira láser del arma a la linterna que se hace presionando el stick derecho del GamePad como si fuera un botón a la vez que estás presionando ese mismo stick hacia alguna dirección para apuntar, ya que si lo dejas en posición neutra presionarlo como un botón no cumple con su objetivo de cambiar de la mira a la linterna o viceversa porque en esa posición tu personaje no utiliza ninguno de los dos ítems. Todo esto considerando que el juego además deja botones sin usar, como los gatillos ZL y ZR que hubieran sido mucho más cómodos para esta función. En los ajustes del juego además no existe la opción de ajustar el control, así que tendrás que acostumbrarte a usarlos como están.

El apartado sonoro destaca gracias a unas voces de excelente calidad y muy expresivas, y no dudaría en decir que es uno de los juegos mejor actuados en lo que respecta a voice-acting en lo que va del año, logrando impregnar a cada personaje con una personalidad única y recordándome más de una vez a la grandiosa GLaDOS de la famosa saga Portal que ya es decir mucho. Por el lado de las melodías, son prácticamente inexistentes, así que no hay mucho que decir salvo que de vez en cuando y en momentos de tensión suena una música que ayuda a mantener esa tensión y que en zonas con muchos enemigos sirve para darte cuenta de cuándo puedes bajar las defensas ya que la música se detendrá cuando hayas eliminado a todos en esa sección.

Los puzzles en el juego están muy bien ideados, al mejor estilo de The Secret of Monkey Island, y aunque no llegan a ser particularmente difíciles sí que suponen un reto que en ocasiones nos llevará a explorar varias veces algunas zonas por las que hayamos pasado con anterioridad, en busca de algo que se nos haya pasado por alto antes.

The Fall es una aventura de ciencia ficción con una historia notable, y una propuesta más que interesante en el catálogo actual de la eShop de Wii U, como también en la plataforma Steam para PC, Mac y Linux. Una atmósfera muy bien lograda, un voice-acting increíble, y una historia digna de los grandes autores del género que no defraudará a los amantes del sci-fi ni de las aventuras gráficas clásicas.