Broken Pieces follows the story of Elise, a woman trapped in a sort of Groundhog Day, however, everyone else has vanished, including her music-creating partner, Pierre. Elise, with her cassette player, trusty pistol, and magic storm stone, must venture out to uncover why this quaint French coastal town of Saint-Exil is now a ghost town, with literal static ghost people that pop up and give you a hard time.

Get your Sherlock on as this story has layers and multiple different factions, each with their insights as to what is happening. Use clues they have left to uncover the mystery, and find your way back to Pierre if you can.

The controls for the game are very similar to the style of Resident Evil, especially in the way of combat; you stand still to aim and can only move in combat when you are not preparing to attack. The haptic triggers on the PS5 controller mainly come into play when pulling the trigger to attack. I personally have not been a fan of the haptic feedback and always turn it off if there is a choice, but there is no option to do so in Broken pieces.

The game features a large range of puzzles throughout the game, some being easy-to-fix problems, like finding a steam valve and turning it, and others being a bit more difficult, such working out some random guy’s birth year with very limited information available, so making use of tapes you find in the world may hold keys to secrets left to uncover, so while you’re out exploring, be sure to make use of any tapes you have on hand.

The one thing inventory-wise I was not a big fan of is the large item carry slot is limited to one, so you will need to be sure to keep an eye on what you are carrying, and if it is an item you may need, like an axe for cutting trees down.

Visually this game is quite good, especially coming from a small developer. There was definitely care and attention to detail put into this. This is not uncommon as there is more genuine love put into it, but being smaller, the budget is not always there to polish it, however, they managed to make this little ocean-view town, ghostly as it is, quietly and eerily stunning.

From abandoned cars to paved streets, there are spots where you change the angle and allow for stunning views. Interactable objects are highlighted, so even though you can miss things, you will eventually find what you are looking for, and it did serve me well.

There is music in-game, but for the most part, it is purely ambient, and this suits the game well. You are, after all, literally walking around an empty town devoid of life except for some birds. When you get closer to the ocean, you’ll hear the ocean breeze, seagulls squawking, and waves crashing, with some creepy and haunting melodic noises added to the mix. If that is a little too scary for you, remember, Pierre is here to help.

You can always throw on one of his tracks to keep your mind off of the harsh reality that you are alone for reasons you are unsure of, with no way of knowing if anyone you know, or the one you love, is still alive, or if you will ever escape this time loop.

In Conclusion, Broken Pieces has an amazing world to behold, with stunning visuals, amazing lighting, and a deep story that offers a great experience, and we can’t forget the great use of music via cassette tapes to fill the emptiness of the world with calming and relaxing music, all of which are originals created for the game. The puzzles will keep any player well-invested time-wise, but the combat portions are a bit on the easy side, so don’t expect much action from the title.

Written by: Shane Walsh