RiME Review: Beautiful, Yet Lacking

Before I can get into this review I can’t help but talk about how beautiful this game is. RiME is beyond beautiful! The color palette, art work and the artwork individually compliments each other. Personally, at first glance it reminded me of a kid with a sword that traveled near and far; then as I blinked again I realized it’s new kid that awaken on the Mediterranean, Enu. It’s a new adventure, a whole new world.

In this world however there’s no prologue, no direct backstory. Instead you stand up and immediately begin to explore what’s in front of you and around you.

There’s quite a bit to explore and puzzles to unravel which is surprisingly calming and fun at the same time as you consistently hit brick walls, climb like Ezio Jr., and yell until the next area of interest is revealed. By your side is a Fox that tends to guide you throughout your adventure.

As big and beautiful as the environment is, it severely lacks content and instead over saturates players with puzzles. As aforementioned, climbing new heights and unlocking new areas definitely feels rewarding. However the experience is limited to the small sandbox styled environment. A bit of a tease per se; all of this is for you, but unfortunately you are only here.

I loved the night and day contrast symbolizing time flying by. Thinking back to LOZ:BOTW, I would have loved to see the little things matter like grabbing the fruit out the tree and needing to eat it as he try to try to figure out what’s next in this on-going adventure.

While enjoying the gameplay for what it is, it becomes a little dull overtime as the story never takes off enough to warrant high replay-ability. Respectfully a few hours in I found myself losing interest. I sort of wished to see more content as it simply fails to excel and becomes bland.

RiME’s soundtrack does a great job telling the story where cinematics doesn’t. I felt responsible for Enu as he researched this mysterious Mediterranean. Controls are fair until the camera angle changes abruptly, causing you to fall off platforms.

There are also collectibles to be found throughout gameplay: different outfits, toys, emblems and more. The most interesting unlock is the ability to unlock Enu’s full lullaby that he hums and sings.