Originally Published to https://oldgrizzledgamers.com/
I Fell from Grace is a 2D adventure game with one of the most fully realized branching stories that I’ve ever played. It presents a wealth of winding paths to be navigated by making meaningful and often disturbing choices. The narrative unfolds into a dark and pessimistic tragedy overrun with uncanny characters. The game flaunts grotesque imagery, in the literary sense, where the human body is distorted and morphed. A depressing and nihilistic view of humanity hides away in every corner. It openly prompts you to replay it over and over, making new choices and trying to solve a looming mystery. It’s weird, fun, and entertaining to explore.
I wish I could say this is an almost perfect game. But, there are some big issues with gameplay that brings down the experience immensely. The narrative and atmosphere are enough to carry the experience and justify buying the game. However, it doesn’t live up to its full potential.
While the thought and work put into the world and characters stand out, it feels like the game systems were not given enough development. How the player interacts with the world needs to be a priority in a game’s design. I Fell from Grace feels like it has only the bare minimum mechanics required. That being said, what I love about I Fell from Grace far outweighs what I disliked.
Should You Buy It?
Yes, I truly think so. Especially if you like adventure games already. Not only is it fun, but it leaves you thinking and wanting to play more. The issues with gameplay don’t really stop you from experiencing the game. At worst, you’ll need to split up your play sessions a bit more than normal.
It checks off all the boxes for games that explore the idea of choices and fate. I could see a game like this gaining the kind of community and fan obsession that a similar game like Undertale has. They hit a lot of the same themes and both are filled with lore and unanswered questions.
If you don’t like adventure games, then you probably won’t like this one. Not because it’s bad, but because it's firmly planted in that genre. So if you have a problem with the genre in general, this game isn’t trying to extend any olive branches to you. But if you like these puzzle-filled, story-driven experiences then you’ll find this is time well spent.
The Game (or The Tragedy of Henry)
Within the first minute, it captivated me. The tone is immediately set with a cryptic poem and a short scene that foreshadows the gore to come. The world is bizarre. A city filled with people who speak completely in rhymes. Without spoiling the game, our protagonist has a very long and painful journey ahead. It takes place over multiple playthroughs as you learn about who lives in this world and about Henry’s own life.
When we begin, his wife is terminally ill, he’s about to lose his job as a researcher at a pharmaceutical company, and their debts are growing. All this while the couple is still grieving after a miscarriage.
One morning Henry finds magical pills that cure any disease in his mailbox. It’s a great premise for a branching narrative and it will surprise and shock you with some of the choices you can make. I’ve not played a game that manages to follow through with so many decisions. As you replay it, you appreciate how little things build up into huge stories. It feels like completely different stories from one playthrough to another. While there is no way to get a game over screen before reaching the end of a play-through, some routes do end prematurely and are less kind to poor Henry. There is also a “true ending” for those with some patience. This ending wraps up the game in spectacular style and will no doubt generate enough fan theories to rival Lost or Inception.
The game is filled with gore which is surprising to see in 2d retro-styled art. It’s certainly not the first game to take this route. Hotline Miami comes to mind immediately. However, I believe the context of the gore is what’s shocking. I Fell from Grace is filled with contrast. The characters seem to be in a normal world but are surrounded by terrifying scenes lingering behind closed doors. It’s unnerving how it appears to be normal, and creates an uncomfortable and weird atmosphere.
Gameplay Issues
The gameplay is very straightforward. You move left or right on the screen to navigate the maps. When you come across an object you can interact with, a little subtitle appears above your character’s head. Pressing the interact key will either pick up an item, give you a few options, or simply give you some informative text.
You will be solving puzzles that are very reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures. None of it is too difficult to figure out since the real focus in the game is on the choices you make. As I mentioned, you are prompted to replay the game several times while making new choices. There is an overarching quest that can only be completed through trial and error.
The problem is, the first 20 minutes of the game aren’t that interesting after you’ve played it once. It felt like it took close to an hour before I would get to the branches of the story I had not yet experienced. On top of that, you will want to repeat a lot of the side quests each playthrough. It turns into a slog after 2 or 3 times. The branching narratives are great, but they are walled away by repetitive gameplay that becomes boring while you wait for the good stuff. You can’t help but think there’s a way to design this better.
A Limited Save System
You are currently limited to 1 save slot which gets overridden each time you make a choice. It’s just annoying. If a choice has multiple branches, I have to replay everything up to that choice to experience each branch. Simply being able to make a save before that choice would let you avoid needless repetition and make the game more fun on multiple playthroughs. I can accept that there is a creative decision in this mechanic, but it would be nice to see at least some creative way to enhance the experience of replaying the game.
Not Enough Direction
The game doesn’t talk to you enough. For the most part, I found the game to be very straightforward when solving the puzzles. However, if you walk past a person who you were supposed to talk to or accidentally miss an item on the ground, you can be completely dumbfounded as to what the game wants you to do. You’ll find yourself backtracking and clicking everything over and over until you discover what you missed. It's an old problem in the genre as a whole.
The game exchanges an overt hint system for listening to gossip around your office and by talking to people. It’s an interesting way to push the player forward, but I Fell from Grace doesn’t even have a quest log to accompany this. You have to pay attention to every hint in the conversations or you’ll miss some crucial point on how to progress the game.
Even making sure you pick up all the items can be a bit of a chore. It was easy to miss items if you were not looking closely. This led to some really aggravating moments of confusion. There is no way to know what items you’ve missed and the game doesn’t notice when you’re stuck. There is no help button or way to get an extra hint if you're confused. On top of this, there are no real walkthroughs and guides to refer to at this time. So it can very be annoying to progress this game during small intervals.
Glitches
There are also random glitches dispersed throughout, but these are being patched. My guess is because of how few people play the game at the moment, it isn’t being poked enough to find all the little problems. None of it is game-breaking and I am willing to forgive this for the most part. Especially since they are fixing them.
The Score - 77
I really wanted to get across how impressed I am with what I played. It kept me engaged and I’m honestly itching to try one or two more playthroughs. I only got 33% of the achievements, so there is a huge portion of this game I didn’t even touch. For fans of branching narratives, this is a must-play. It's fun to watch the consequences of your choices be fully realized. Each storyline has a great payoff. It’s entertaining and enjoyable. I can see this game becoming a cult classic and I’m surprised that it hasn’t had much traction yet. Despite its flaws, there is a good game here.
I want to give the game a higher score. If I only had to rate the storytelling elements, this would be a solid 90. However, the mechanics, or the lack of mechanics that would allow for better re-play potential, get in the way of the amazing level of detail that has been put into these branching narratives.
