PRICE

Sometimes a great story can be told without flashy graphics and complex gameplay mechanics, although those help a great deal when they are all part of the same package. On the other hand, certain genres benefit much more from a good story than from striking graphics, as is the case with point & click adventure games, or RPGs.

PRICE is a point & click adventure game in which you play the role of a girl who wakes up in a strange world with no idea of how she got there or how to get out. The game features a few horror elements as well, which means that you might be a bit creeped out if you are sensitive to certain themes and you are not a fan of disturbing imagery.

The gameplay mechanics are pretty standard for a point & click adventure game, but there are a few differences when it comes to how you interact with objects and how you combine them in order to solve puzzles. Thus, there’s a clue system you can use to find answers, and it works after you gather enough information to combine multiple clues in order to come up with an explanation.

Everything is presented in a 2D environment, so the actual exploration is not as moody as you would expect it to be. On the other hand, the atmosphere does not rely entirely on graphics and immersion through a first-person perspective, because it can be created in other ways as well. In this case, the creepiness is created using a combination of artwork style, story and soundtrack.

Speaking of which, the graphics are pretty nice from an artistic point of view, even if they appear to be too flat and unimpressive when it comes to lightning. The level design is what matters, on the other hand, it’s quite clear that the artists paid close attention to this chapter. The soundtrack is great, since it goes really well with the action on the screen.

In the end, PRICE is actually much tougher and enjoyable than it appears at first, even if the anime themes may not be everyone’s cup of tea. As long as you can get past that, on the other hand, the game may take you by surprise.