The Rime of the Ancient Art-Game Developer

RiME is a very pretty - sincerely, a very aesthetically-pleasing - experience. Its exotic environments are visually striking, and evocative of various narratively-engaging themes of awe, curiosity, anxiety, and isolation.

But there's almost no substance to support this style. The game doesn't control very well (there's just a smidge of unpredictability when jumping or running), the puzzle mechanics don't evolve after the first hour, and its most challenging moments are only thus because of partially-hidden climbing handholds.

RiME has no voice-overs, no expository text, no character development and almost no ambient storytelling. The story it does tell, through confusingly metaphorical cinematics, takes a turn around the 4-hour point into "Oh, now I see what they're going for," but then takes another turn shortly afterward into "A lie is not a twist!" before landing on an unfulfilling ending.

Compared to the last Tequila Works title I played, Deadlight, RiME shows some growth in the "playability" domain. But it's still not mechanically fun, and the story still feels meaninglessly tepid.

Better than: Deadlight
Not as good as: ... Myst? I guess?
Roughly equivalent to: AER: Memories of Old; RiME is longer, but maybe it shouldn't be.

Progress: Finished, with almost no collectibles.