Remothered: Broken Porcelain is a stealth-based survival horror game developed by Stromind Games, and published by Modus Games. It is the follow up to the previously successful hit Remothered: Tormented Fathers, which I confess I have not played, but I’ve read some reviews and it seems like a pretty good game. I, personally, am not a fan of stealth games; definitely more of a “give me a weapon and let me at ‘em”, sort of gamer. This aside, the reviews mentioned the prelude was very puzzle based so I was keen to see what was in store for the follow up.

I’m not going to lie to you, gang, things were not off to a great start. It gave me the option to hear a recap of the previous game, so I started watching it, and I then proceeded to accidentally bump my mouse and skipped it, so I was instantly a little lost. To make matters even worse, let’s just say the instructions were unclear. I died instantly. HA! Ripper of a start. You spawn in with a nail gun, and boy oh boy was I excited!

However, apparently the nail gun you start with is NOT a weapon. I repeat, it is NOT a weapon. Actually, to clarify that let me quote a good friend of mine, Rainier Wolfcastle; “Ze goggles, zey do nooooothing”. I was immediately grabbed and attacked by a man-shaped monster. End scene.

As you respawn, you’re in a different room. Same girl, different story. I’m guessing that was a cut-scene sort of level; I’m now starting the ACTUAL game. The little starting scene hasn’t made things any clearer for me in terms of storyline, so now that I’m starting the actual game and I’m hoping to get a little more information. I’m introduced to some of the characters, but even their relationships seem complex. At this point, I’ve only got the vaguest idea of what is going on story-wise. This could be fun, but I’m starting to doubt the excerpt from Steam’s purchase page that claims “perfect for both new and returning fans to the series”.

Confusing storyline aside, the graphics are amazing. Detailed and realistic, the developers have clearly put a lot of time and energy into them. The game claims to be a thrilling psychological thriller and they have hit the mark in terms of environment. There’s creaking floorboards, lots of shadows, dark corridors and locked doors, and that’s all before you get your first look at one of the bug-ridden bad guys. Be warned, my friends, when you get your first look at the hand (not a real spoiler, calm down) you may jump. I didn’t jump, cause I’m tough… OK, I definitely screamed a little.

On top of these incredibly intimidating surroundings, the music and sound effects stack to make the entire environment both immersive and extremely daunting. This doesn’t come as a surprise as Remothered: Broken Porcelain calls back their previous composer, Luca Balboni, to help ensure the continuity across both games. The sound effects should definitely be turned up for maximum scare factor.

For all of these amazing graphics and sounds, I was really let down by the movement of the character, and the lack of actual interactivity of the surroundings. There’s nothing to distinguish items that can be picked up from general surroundings, which made trying to collect things next to impossible. You are able to carry one weapon to defend yourself should you be caught, and each time you pick up another possible weapon you just drop the one you were holding without warning. It’s hard to move around a small cupboard and check each crevice, with no indication of what you can and can’t interact with. Include the fact that it’s difficult to tell exactly what you’re aiming your mouse at, and it’s damn near impossible to collect items. Let’s just say I was not impressed by this part of the gameplay.

I did really enjoy the different ways of distraction that Remothered: Broken Porcelain employs. The early game options of throwing bottles is basic enough, but I’m talking about the telepathic control of moths. Using a bug to create distractions isn’t that exciting, but it’s different, and it’s fantastic.

Perhaps it’s my aversion to the subtle nature of these styles of games, but I also hated how slow I had to move to avoid detection. Even walking would draw their attention, and so you’re stuck at a crawl so slow that I’m pretty sure at one point I saw a snail out pacing me. Didn’t see the crazy killer lady attack him though! Picky little killers.

Wrapping it all together, I wasn’t a huge fan of Remothered: Broken Porcelain. Considering the hype around the original, I have the feeling this game could have had a lot more potential. Maybe that’s on me; as I mentioned, this game isn’t my cup of tea. If you played the original, maybe the second makes more sense, or just gives you what you’re looking for.

Written by: HadesTheHobo