Playing A Game Pinstripe PC

Pinstripe is more tedious and boring than you'd expect for a game that's only two or three hours long.

It's got platforming, but it isn't very well-architected; the jumping works fine, but movement on bouncy elements is too hard to predict, platforms aren't always visually clear, and its scant enemies are consistently dull.

It's got puzzles, but they aren't very puzzling; many of its challenges are reminiscent of obtuse point-and-click adventure riddles, and its most engaging puzzles are Highlights-style spot the difference interludes.

It's got exploration, but it isn't very compelling; revisiting map screens I'd seen before always felt more like a chore than a surprise, especially considering how many screen transitions I had to go through again and again.

Pinstripe's mechanical shortcomings give it the earmarks of a story-driven arthouse game, except... while it's got a story to tell, it doesn't come together in a satisfying, or even coherent way. Its story beats have some subtle and some not subtle at all indications of a metaphorical connection to a deeper plot, but it never fully explains the truth or its intended message.

Imagine if you saw the beginning and end of The Usual Suspects without any of the storytelling inbetween. That's kinda what this story feels like.

This game has some admirable production values, in terms of its art style and moody soundtrack. Even the voice acting is pretty good, considering the source material its actors had to read. But that speaks to Pinstripe's core problem: the source material isn't any good. Despite its aesthetic trappings, this is a mechanically-stilted, tiresome, repetitive, unsatisfying adventure.

Better than: Toren
Not as good as: Broken Age
Did I really prefer: RiME over this? Yeah, if just barely.

Progress: Finished the story, didn't bother with any extras.

Rating: Bad