![]() ![]() ![]() Hidden object adventure games are the focus of the latest PC and Mobile Humble Bundle. With such momentum behind it, how could the OUYA fall from grace so spectacularly in only a few short years? Now that the dust has well and truly settled – even if the bitterness still lingers – we thought it might be a good chance to reflect on the little console that couldn't. The company itself is no more, with the leftover scraps bought by Razer Inc. Running on the Android operating system and priced at just US$99, many people felt that the OUYA’s lofty goal of breaking into living rooms dominated by traditional console manufacturers was in the realm of possibility.įast forward several years and the only remaining legacy of the OUYA is the dust-covered units either packed away in disgruntled early adopters’ cupboards or jamming up eBay’s auction listings. With brash confidence and even greater ambition, the stylish OUYA was born. A new microconsole was poised to enter the market, ushering in a new way to game with the spectacular promise of “upending console gaming”. Though there were doubters, the excitement was palpable. So why did the OUYA fail to connect with gamers? And that's a shame too, because the gripping story should be the selling point of this game rather than a bunch of difficult environmental puzzles.ĭespite the initial groundswell of support, the OUYA microconsole faded from the limelight just as quickly as it sprang up. Unfortunately, the the complexity of the puzzles and mechanics may be enough to turn some people away, especially those who would prefer to focus on the narrative. Underneath some frustrating mechanics lies a game with a fascinating story and some genuinely challenging (yet rewarding) puzzles. Renoir captures that moody, jazz-esuqe atmosphere particularly well and is an absolute pleasure just to sit and drink in scene after scene.įor more information, you may wish to read our review of Blues and Bullets: Episode One and The Detail ( Episode One and Episode Two). ![]() Or if you’ve played Blues and Bullets or The Detail, then you know what sort of game you’re in for. In fact, Renoir gives off a Sin City vibe. Gorgeous black and white scenes are occasionally punctuated with a dash of bright colour, like something ripped straight out of a Hollywood noir movie or graphic novel. I have a warm and fuzzy soft spot for noir-inspired games, and Renoir fits the part beautifully. Nonetheless, let me say this though – the game looks visually stunning. It didn’t help that the controls were not always the most responsive, when many of the puzzles required a fine degree of precision. Perhaps this says more about my (lack of?) puzzle solving abilities, but I was disappointed that the emphasis shifted from the story to solving environmental puzzles. Instead of being engaged by a potentially captivating murder mystery, I was instead trawling through Youtube looking for help. The difficult of these puzzles ratchets up quickly and, unfortunately, I found myself turning to video guides quicker than I had hoped. In doing this, Renoir recollects his last living memories to search for clues that lead back to his murderer. The premise behind the puzzles is that Renoir has the ability to control other phantoms around him, and use them to solve environmental puzzles (such as avoiding sources of light and directing phantoms to operate platforms). I love engaging my brain to solve noodle scratchers as much as the next bloke but, boy, did I encounter some frustration in Renoir. It’s an odd pairing of genres, with the emphasis taken off the narrative and instead put on solving a bunch of increasingly complex platforming puzzles. But instead Renoir plays out as a 2.5D platformer. It’s an interesting hook with a lot of potential and one that hasn’t been completely done to death (pun intended).Īs you might expect, the story element of Renoir searching for his murderer is heavily emphasised so you’d be forgiven for thinking this would be a narrative heavy, adventure driven game. From a story perspective, Renoir runs in a similar vein to Murdered: Soul Suspect with police officer, James Renoir, investigating his own murder. Renoir is an interesting mash up of genres, which I’m still undecided whether it completely works. And, at times, that is a virtue I did not possess. Though I enjoyed my time with Renoir, it is one of those games where patience truly is a virtue. It’s a question I had to keep asking myself to see if I was willing to push through some frustrating mechanics and puzzles in the noir-inspired Renoir to unravel the case. How far would you be willing to go to solve your own murder? That’s not a rhetorical question. An intriguing noir-inspired murder mystery riddled with difficult puzzles make this a hard case to solve. ![]()
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