Nero – Review

While many titles arrive atop a sea of hype, others suddenly appear under the radar appearing on the store without warning…  NERO is one of the latter with little known about the title or indeed the developers ‘Storm In A Teacup’.

To call NERO a game is stretching it a little, as this is something completely different to the norm and really quite unique. In fact, it is much more of an interactive story than an interactive adventure which tried to pull you in to the deep plot, but struggles to really immerse you in its own beautiful world.

NERO begins at a very slow pace almost painfully slow at times and even holding down the run button feels much more like you’re barely breaking into a jog, Clearly aimed towards adults, with a deep and involving dual storyline which will require attention to understand the intricacies of both stories; especially later through the game as you keep putting together pieces of the novel to find  what links them together.

A couple dealing with the sudden illness of their son, and the strange sea creatures ‘Brigands’ certainly sound quite disimilar, but as you progress you’ll put together the overall story from floating text and audio naration as well as a fair share of puzzles.

Unfortunately the puzzles (which are ultimately the main gameplay element) feel a little simplistic and at times repetitive. Maybe a more youth friendly approach to the story would have made Nero appeal to a greater selection of gamers, but as it stands, the story requires the attention and understanding of the more mature side of the population. Yet the gameplay lacks any form of excitement, intrigue or even challenging play.

Initially I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing graphic direction. With a peaceful island accurately depicted and all manor of glowing lights, bioluminescent flowers and details drawing your attention from one floating paragraph to the next, Storm In A Teacup have done a great job of introducing you to the story. While there’s sadly a little bit of pop-up present, the overall graphics and presentation have to be commended with some great lighting and a lovely variety of locations. Whilst each one is quite different to the next, they all seem perfectly suited to the world around you.

As well as the strange floating paragraphs of text, there are also regular narrations which help to tell both stories. These begin very differently, but slowly introduce you to how they are linked. With a smooth and soothing soundtrack playing along in the background, the world of NERO is well crafted if not spectacular.

The final disappointment sadly comes down to the longevity of the title. You would be hard pushed to take longer than 5 or so hours to complete NERO, and while there are some collectible image pieces in the form of memories which may take a little longer to collect, these never feel a major part of the adventure.

A single player only experience with no form of multiplayer, the story is an enjoyable experience, but it’s not the sort of game that will shock you or even remotely interest you the second time around.