Iris.Fall
Gameplay 6
Graphics 8
Sound 7

Iris.Fall is a puzzle adventure featuring eye-catching monochrome-style visuals and gameplay based on light and shadows. It features a few interesting puzzles, but with only eight rather small areas to explore there’s not much to keep players hooked. In addition, the inclusion of a few tedious puzzles and a story that is not very memorable makes the game a bit harder to recommend. Nevertheless, while the game doesn’t excel in any particular aspect, it is a competent title that has its moments.

Gameplay: Iris.Fall features plenty of puzzles involving the manipulation of light and shadows along with a few other brain teasers that shouldn’t stump puzzle veterans for too long.

Graphics: The visual style looks really good and while the game does not have a lot of locations they are all very detailed and unique.

Sound: The soundtrack is rather subdued and the game lacks any type of voice-overs, but the ambient sounds do a great job of maintaining the atmosphere

Summary 7.0 Good
Gameplay 0
Graphics 0
Sound 0
Summary rating from user's marks. You can set own marks for this article - just click on stars above and press "Accept".
Accept
Summary 0.0 Terrible

Iris.Fall

Developer: NEXT Studios | Publisher: NEXT Studios | Release Date: 2018 | Genre: Casual / Adventure / Puzzle | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Like Alice ending up in Wonderland after following a white rabbit, the protagonist of Iris.Fall finds herself in a surreal dreamlike world while setting off in pursuit of a black cat. Since the game does not feature any voiceovers or indeed text of any kind it is up to readers to decipher why Iris thought that traipsing into a dilapidated theater in the dead of night is a good idea. Nevertheless, once Iris enters the theatre she finds all the color stripped from her world and must solve a series of puzzles to try and keep up with the cat that is leading her deeper into the shadowy world.

Puzzles form the heart of this adventure and Iris will frequently be confronted with them. Each chapter in the game is set in a large room where players must figure out how to get Iris to the exit. The game uses light and shadows as its theme, so many of the puzzles incorporate these. Some of the puzzles are quite clever and very satisfying to solve, but there are also a few that are a bit more obscure and require too much trial and error to complete for our tastes.

Iris.Fall is viewed from a third-person perspective and the game makes use of fixed camera angles to lend each scene a more dramatic look. In addition, the game makes use of monochrome-style cell-shaded visuals, which is a great match for the story and puzzles. Some puzzles require players to collect objects and use them in the right locations while others involve manipulating lights or shadows. Iris is able to use books that are placed in strategic spots to transition between the 3D world of light and the shadow world, which is 2D. However, since she can’t jump, the 2D sections often call for players to alter the environments in ways that change the shapes or positions of shadows. This can be a little tedious at times and some of these sections felt like they dragged out for too long, which is surprising considering how short the game is. With only eight chapters, puzzle veterans should be able to complete Iris.Fall in one or two sessions.

Although the visuals are monochromatic, each location in Iris.Fall is packed with detail and the environments are as interesting as they are diverse. One of our favorite sections features a giant pop-up book where players must switch between different pages to solve an M.C. Escher-style stairs puzzle. While some areas are a little creepy, especially the ones with marionettes, the game never feels like a horror title. Instead, there is an atmosphere of almost melancholy about the game, especially as the only other characters Iris encounters are marionettes.

To complement the visuals Iris.Fall features a rather sparse soundtrack. There are some occasional piano pieces, especially during the more dramatic moments, but overall players are left with only some ambient noises. These sound good and add to the dreamlike feel of the game. Iris.Fall can be played with a keyboard and mouse or controller with either working fine as there are no platforming timing-based actions required. Players can enable “Hints” which are actually just dots that are shown above objects in the environment that Iris can interact with. Since the environments are not that big it is usually obvious what players can interact with anyway, but this feature can be helpful to players who want to avoid wasting time on pixel hunting. Most of the puzzles feature a “Reset” button so players can start over if they get something wrong, but luckily it’s impossible to misuse items or do something so wrong that it requires a reload. We also didn’t encounter any bugs or issues during our playthrough of the game. The fact that the game has achievements for completing certain puzzles on the first attempt is a bit odd as players can simply restart from a previous checkpoint and try again if they fail to do so. The ability to select completed chapters from the title screen is also handy for getting some of the missed achievements, but other than that the game does not have a lot of replay value.

Overall, Iris.Fall is an interesting title, but it is neither the first to make use of lights and shadows as its core theme nor the best at doing so. Despite some clever puzzles, there’s nothing in the game that we haven’t really seen before and the ambiguity of the story also means the game is less memorable than it could have been. Couple that with the rather short playtime and Iris.Fall ends up as a game that most players will breeze through in a day or two and then never look back. There’s nothing wrong with this, but apart from the eye-catching visual style, there’s not much here to recommend to players who are not already fans of the genre.

System Requirements

  • OS: Windows 7/8/10
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-4160 CPU@3.6GHz or AMD FX-6100 CPU@3.3GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9-270
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 4 GB available space
  • Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
  • OS: Windows 7/8/10
  • Processor: Intel i5-4590 CPU@3.3GHz or AMD FX-8350@4GHz
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 or AMD Radeon R9-280
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 4 GB available space
  • Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Related posts

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD

Whether you already played The Fowl Fleet or fondly remember Nelly Cootalot from the freeware version, you definitely don't want to miss out on this HD revival of Spoonbeaks Ahoy! It's a charming point-and-click adventure with a wonderful protagonist and a cast of interesting characters. The humor is still great, and while the game is very short, it is also very cheap, so there is no reason to miss out if you are a fan of the genre. Gameplay: The game is short but amusing and entertaining. Graphics: The HD upgrade looks good, but the visuals are still very simple. Sound: The soundtrack is decent, and the voice acting is much better than what we expected.

Pinball FX2 – Marvel’s Ant-Man

Pinball FX2 - Marvel's Ant-Man

Zen Studios know a thing or two when it comes to designing original and enjoyable pinball tables and Ant-Man is no exception. It features an open playing field, plenty of challenges and some very nice visual elements. Once again this is a table that will appeal to pinball lovers even if they are not necessarily fans of the Ant-Man license. Gameplay: The table is a lot of fun and features plenty of challenges to master. Graphics: Makes very good use of the Ant-Man license. Sound: Good music and very decent voice acting.

Pharaoh Rebirth+

Pharaoh Rebirth+

Pharaoh Rebirth+ is a Metroidvania style platformer that oozes charm and playability. Even with the low resolution visuals the pixel art remains brilliant and each location is packed with detail. The story is another surprising highlight and you’ll encounter plenty of humor along with interesting twists. You really can’t go wrong with this title if you are a fan of the genre and it manages to shine despite some technical limitations. Gameplay: The game has a surprising amount of depth for a platformer and plenty of replay value as well. Graphics: The resolution is rather low, but this doesn’t diminish the brilliance of the pixel art visuals. Sound: Catchy tunes and decent sound effects.

Sakura Agent

Sakura Agent

Akira took the job working for a mysterious agency because it gave him the opportunity for free trips around the world and meeting women. However, despite his high success rate, he is on the verge of getting kicked out due to his antics. He has the opportunity to prove himself though when an influx of other-dimensional beings start making a nuisance of themselves. Sakura Agent is a typical Winged Cloud visual novel with plenty of scantily clad women, comical situations and a paper thin plot. If you are a fan of the genre and the developer you’ll enjoy the game, but everyone else will probably find it a little lacking. Gameplay: Humorous characters and situations, but the story isn’t exactly engaging. Graphics: Beautiful character designs, but far too few backgrounds. Sound: The music is unremarkable while the sound effects and voice acting are non existent.

KickBeat Steam Edition

KickBeat Steam Edition

I have played many Rhythm action games over the years and KickBeat is definitely one that is as entertaining to watch as it is to play. Defeating opponents to the beat of the music is exhilarating stuff and it is made even better by the smooth animations. If you tire of the included music you can also import your own giving this game a lot of replay value. Gameplay: A unique take on the Rhythm action genre. Graphics: The visuals have been enhanced for the Steam release and look better than ever. Sound: Six new tracks boost the complete list to a total of 24 tunes.

Harmonia

Harmonia

Harmonia is a short kinetic novel featuring an emotions-capable robot, or Phiroid, waking up in a decayed factory with no memory. Players view the story through the eyes of this robot named Rei, as he is taken in Shiona, a kindhearted woman living in a small town. Rei attempts to be helpful to the townspeople while learning about emotions, which he feels he lacks. The story is set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, and as is usual for a title by Key, it has its fair share of drama and heartbreak. Unfortunately, the pacing is a bit off, and despite the short runtime, some players will guess what some of the story twists are before the end. Nevertheless, the game is certainly worth a playthrough for fans of the genre and is also a good entry point for newcomers. Gameplay: The story and characters are intriguing, but the pacing is a bit off. Graphics: The backgrounds and sprites are good, but even with the limited number of characters, the men look a lot more bland and generic compared to the women. Sound: Harmonia features plenty of great background tracks as well as Japanese voice acting for three of the four central characters.

Leave a comment

19 + 12 =