Review: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010)

• January 22, 2012
• James Skemp
• gaming, review

A wonderful short story

When Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was first being discussed I was keeping my eye on it, as I had picked up Heavenly Sword when I picked up my PlayStation 3 and thorougly enjoyed it. However, after lackluster reviews I opted to wait until I picked it up. Unfortunately, it took this long to finally do so.

The gameplay consists of combat and exploration, and I found both to be rather satisfying. The former does allow you to get by in normal difficulty without too much strategy, which in this case I liked perfectly fine since I was playing it mostly for the story.

The exploration is extremely fluid, allowing you to quickly and easily move around, as opposed to having to move to just the right spot, or hold the left stick in just the right way.

But what I really enjoyed from the game was the story. I had no intention of finishing the game as quickly as I did (over the course of two days, maybe hitting double digit hours), but I had a very hard time putting the game down after completing a chapter. In fact, the only time I was disappointed with the story was at the very end, since I felt the ending was far too abrupt, and expected for there to be an extrended, or true ending if the game was completed on hard (which doesn't appear to be the case).

Each of the main characters has personality, something I also got from Heavenly Sword, and by the end of the journey, despite it being so short, I actually felt I had some understanding of each of the characters.

In regards to length, while it's true the game is short, it doesn't feel rushed, and there's enough to keep you playing for a little while longer, such as finding collectibles or purchasing the DLC, if you so choose.

If you enjoyed the experience that was Heavenly Sword I believe you'd enjoy this experience as well. If the combat appeals to you, I'd also recommend picking up a copy. The climbing/exploration is fairly simple, so if you'd like a complex experience in that regard, or if you want a complex combat system, you'll want to look elsewhere.

Overall, I give Enslaved: Odyssey to the West 4 of 5 stars, and I will be going through the game at least one more time.

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