Nintendo Switch – The Long Reach #134

Sometimes I felt like an idiot when it came to items…

The Long Reach – Nintendo Switch – Released: 3/15/18 – $14.99

Short Review (Review copy provided by Merge Games)

The Long Reach is an interesting take on the outbreak genre because most go for the run and gun gameplay. The Long Reach sets you the same path as watching a good suspense movie. It forces you down a path you don’t want to go down yet always providing you with the tools needed to take control of the situation. You will find yourself always looking at items and using them on everything. This game does become a “Do you want the X” or “Can I do this with this item”, it maybe just me but sometimes it isn’t as obvious as it should be. The horror aspects never feel scary but knowing that something strange and horrifying is happening around you sets the tone. The only issue with the game is that it is fairly short, if you rush through it I think you could finish it within 2 hours. The game is pretty good but the amount of contact is lacking. I would give this game a 6 out of 10, it easily sets the correct mood, sometimes have head scratching puzzles, and a very short experience.

Love the icon but wish it showed the character more and not just the leg and arm:

Story

The game starts off with Calvin reading a letter from Shelly being told that he must get his own food and that things are getting rough for their relationship. Calvin visits a local store when it is suddenly attacked by a strange man. It flashes back two weeks early, scientific experiments have allowed us to rapidly transferred information to humans. The humans are slowly turning into monsters and you are trying to figure out what has happened to the people who were tested.

Gameplay

This is an adventure game with a lot of puzzle solving aspects. The bulk of your game you will be putting things together like the opening has you trying to open a door but you don’t have a key. So you will need to talk to people to find the key then use the key to open the door. Puzzles get more complicated over time but still will have you going for fetching items.

Personal Experience

I’m not sure why these games give me so much trouble… I always get into a situation where I spent an half hour to an hour having no idea what to do next. The opening section has you trying to open an elevator door and I had all the items yet didn’t know what to do. It took me too long to put the right item into the door and this happened several times throughout my run. This genre I used to be really good at growing up playing games like Monkey Island and backing Broken Age. I enjoyed the game still but getting older may have taken its toll on my logic puzzle skills.

Final Thoughts

While I did like the game it is a one and done game. After I was finished I didn’t really want to go back to it even after two weeks now I haven’t touched it. I would have loved more content or at least a more drawn out experience. Even though it took me around 5 hours to finish, other people I’ve talk to have finished it in less than 3 hours. For $15 it is a very hard sell just to be able to take this game on the go. I was never fond of playing scary games while out because environments don’t work well. I would give this game a 6 out of 10, it was too short for the price even though it does give a chilling experience. I would have loved an extra few hours of content or going more in depth on characters’ history.

My Gameplay Footage:

Trailer:

End Credits

Times have definitely gotten rough, a game that should have took me like 2-3 hours took me 5 hours. I did wait a long time before writing my review to see if my feelings for the game changed but they didn’t. I was kind of surprised since I did enjoy running through the game the first time even though I was using everything on everything else. Kind of a pain but I think that is because my lack of playing these games as often as a child. Funny how that can happen to people, it really is true if you don’t use it you will lose it. I hope you enjoy this review so let me know what you thought of it, if you plan on picking it up or if you felt differently about it. Thanks for reading!

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