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Review: Primordia

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The world is destroyed. Mankind is extinct. Yet after generations in the ruins ofwar and wires, robots look to man as a god-like entity. Man built the originalmachines, and those machines built other machines in turn. Yet, with everygeneration the creations are less perfect. Thus, in the eyes of the robots, manwas the original machine, perfect and with unlimited memory.

Robots are set to follow in the footsteps of man, building and maintaining thecreations that were left behind. Yet there is more to this world than just religious

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robots in a wasteland. The moon is waning, and power is the most sought afterresource in this world of machines. This is the setting for Primordia, a point-and-click adventure game from Wadget Eye Games.

You play as Horatio Nullbuilt (the last names of robots tells who built them), arobot in his fifth version who canʼt recall his prior versions and spends his time inthe wasteland studying the Book of Man and salvaging scrap to add to hiscreations. Your sidekick is Crispin Horatiobuilt, a hovering droid with a sense ofhumor (not Jar Jar humor. Heʼs more like the Max to your Sam).

The ship youʼve turned into a home is raided by a robot that shoots you andsteals your power core. Facing death as you and your floating sidekick slowlyrun out of energy, you set off to reclaim what was stolen from you, embarking onan adventure across the wasteland and into the last city of Metropol.

Metropol is a place that promises unlimited energy and safe haven to allrobots—a welcomed refuge from the wastelands where dwindling power meansthe end of a robotʼs life. You soon find, however, that all is not right in thispromised city of glass and energy. Talk about man is forbidden, those whoremember man are forced to erase the files, and “superstitious” items like theBook of Man are confiscated upon arrival. Megacycles are payment to enter thecity, which feed the memory of its overmind—a dictatorial machine known asMetromind.

You uncover a story of betrayal and epic battles, corrupt politics in the world ofmachines, and the last battles of man. Whether in film or in a game, Primordia isone of the one deepest sci-fi stories thatʼs been told in years.

My only complaint was that the game felt somewhat short (expect 5 to 7 hours ifyou donʼt get stuck on many puzzles). There were plenty of spots in thewasteland and in Metropol for you to explore, but it could have benefited fromone more primary location.

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In terms of gameplay, Primordia is a fantastic point-and-click adventure game,following well the tradition of Wadget Eye Games (Resonance, Gemini Rue,Blackwell Deception) that captures the look and feel of the 90s classics (the Sam& Max, Kingʼs Quest VI, Beneath a Steel Sky, Space Quest VI era).

It mainly sticks to game mechanics of the old old-school p&c adventure games.There isnʼt anything particularly groundbreaking—like the memory system inResonance or the psychic powers of Cognition—but with a few tricks of its own.

Many puzzles are solved using items already in your inventory, which makes youthink differently about what you already have and reduces the “go find this” grindthat sometimes overcomes adventure games.

It also offers multiple paths to completing some of the puzzles, and a very largecollection of endings (several good, some in the middle, and a couple bad ones).You actually have choices in Primordia. Would I rather crack this code myself orhave my bot fly over and decode it? Do I want to restore this machine or destroyit? There arenʼt a ton of branching paths (until the very end), but there is enoughto give the game a very open feel.

Yet, where Primordiaʼs gameplay really shines is in its characters. They are asdiverse as can be. There is Goliath, the giant machine buried in the sand with his


virus-ridden serverbots tinkering in his mind; Ever-Faithful Leobuilt is a religiousrobot guarding a bomb in the wasteland. There are musical fractal-bots, sketchytraders, lost war machines, zombie-like shells, and others that move about thecity and make the game feel very much alive.

Each of these bots has a personality that is all their own, a history that givesthem depth, and intertwining relations that round out their characters. Some arelocked to their code. Some are slaves to a master bot. Others are free to do asthey will.

Voices are just as diverse, and the creators did a great job on voice acting.Some sound like text-to-speech robots, some more human, some like properBritish gentlemen. There are machines that beep and process data, others thatsound wise and powerful. Talking to characters never seems like a chore.

Speaking of sound, Primordia has an atmospheric soundtrack reminiscent ofBlade Runner. Itʼs very subtle and diverse, lending well to the differentenvironments, interactions, and events.

The graphics are slightly pixelated, but also detailed. Again, Primorida goes forthat 90s adventure game feel, and graphics hit the mark. But on its own, itʼs alsoa very interesting game to look at. It has a very unique art style, with a 1930scyberpunk post-apocalyptic look. Environments are detailed and diverse, but notso complex that itʼs hard to find objects or characters.

My only gripe with the graphics was a slight glitch in one part of Metropol thathad robots walking through each other at times.

Overall though, Primorida is a welcomed addition to the world of gaming andsci-fi. It carries the deeply philosophical story that sci-fi films once had, andcoupled with a unique art style, loads of eccentric characters, and fun gameplay,this is a must-have. I hope Primoria is the first of many set in this fantasticallyimagined world.

Story

Originality

Fun Factor


About the Author

Joshua Philipp Joshua Philipp is the Chief Editor of TechZwn.com,and a technology editor and reporter at The Epoch Times. Hevalues narrative and seeking out untold stories.

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Summary: Primordia is the best point-and-clickadventure game since the 90s. It has a deepscience fiction plot that weaves together a storythat will not be soon forgotten.

5A fantastic sci-fi

adventure

User Rating: 0 (0 votes)

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