There really is no shortage of post-apocalyptic scenarios in popular culture. Massive floods, alien invasions, or the ever popular downfall due to the hubris of man are ever present.
REDO! draws from the last in this sequence. Set in a world overrun by biomachines, humans are on the brink of extinction. In it, you play as a lone girl. After years on her own, she has received a message from another human, encouraging her to embark on a journey. Hoping she can reconnect with another human after years of isolation.
Described as a non-linear action RPG, REDO appears to fall flat in every category. It’s technically non-linear, but that just amounts to surface level choices, such as choosing to grab one key first instead of another.
Worse still is the action. The movement and combat are incredibly slow and tedious. It feels like the main character has tied cinder blocks to her feet. Jumps go nowhere and while there is a dodge roll, enemies can randomly be spawned in electrified. This makes it so dodge rolling through them still causes damage. This happens to the generic enemies as well as the boss enemies. If you’re unfortunate enough to come across the latter, it’s best just to die and restart the run. As a result, much of combat is incredibly defensive and slow.
There are various weapons to pick up and use, and they are very helpful in progressing. But ammo is limited and shared amongst all of your weapons. Even the riot shield, which protects against projectiles and physical attacks, costs ammo to use. Frankly, I thought the game was bugged when I was first trying to use it. Until I realized after dying that it was using the same ammo that the stun gun and rocket launcher use.
This makes it impractical to use. When fighting the boss enemies, using the shield would’ve been helpful in avoiding death. However, the standard attack has such a short range and is so slow that it’s essential to use the stronger weapons to do any significant amount of damage.
I’m all for challenging combat, but REDO! makes it so tedious that it’s no longer fun. Progression feels more like relief than a reward. Instead of being satisfied in defeating a tough opponent, I was just thankful that it was over and I wouldn’t need to redo it.
It doesn’t help that there is no checkpoint system and save spots are sparse. There is also no map, so trial and error is the name of the game as you explore the world. I’ll give REDO! credit where credit is due though. It is relatively simple to remember the layout of the areas, and you won’t struggle too much when it comes to retracing steps. But again, it is a tedious process. Especially when enemies hit so hard and there are virtually no invincibility frames; you’ll pretty much be forced to replay sections again and again.
What is truly infuriating though is the fact that there are completely invisible enemies in some rooms. The only sign that they are there is the sound effect that they make, coupled by the fact that as you hear that sound you’ll be taking damage. Again, I thought the game was bugged when I first came across an enemy that just randomly killed me with no visual indicator. By talking with one of the NPCs that I encountered later in the game, I discovered this was an intentional choice.
I am probably a little bitter about the whole thing because I did learn about an item that allowed me to see these invisible enemies. The issue was I found it after clearing the area where the invisible enemies were.
REDO!’s graphics are probably the best thing about the game. The visual designs are clean and impart the dark and gloomier narrative that the game is going for. I did feel a bit like I was playing a game full of different terminators, but overall the design of the game is very nice.
Personally, I’ve rarely cared for the combat mechanics, but they are consistent and if you’re a fan of slower paced combat then it might be more your speed. The lack of mobility just makes it difficult to enjoy. Exploration feels tedious and unlocking new abilities is never very exciting.
Granted, the base mechanics of REDO! aren’t inherently flawed and everything plays like it’s supposed to, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. The creative direction just isn’t one that leads to a game that I personally want to play. You see, when I involve myself in a difficult game, I want to feel accomplished that I am able to overcome an obstacle. I don’t want my first thought to be, “I’m glad I never need to do that again”.
REDO! Is available to download from the Xbox Store
