Review by Jon Donnis
The Last Show of Mr. Chardish is a story about the relationship of two artists, who founded a theatre in a British countryside.
You start the game in first person view, playing as Ella, set in the 1970s, Ella decides to travel to an old theatre that she used to perform at, as she explores she is able to access memories, and as she does you are transported into the mind of Mr Chardish, and you then see the world as he did, and this is where Act 1 Starts, and this is the first of the different "play styles" that exist within the world. Solitude, Anger, Symmetry, Ascension, and Daydream. Each play style is very different, and basically different games in their own sense.
I will keep this review to just the Solitude and Symmetry levels, as they are what I have played and completes so far.
I will keep this review to just the Solitude and Symmetry levels, as they are what I have played and completes so far.
As you play you will find letters to be read, records to be listened to and so on, they all make up what is a lovely story, which is very engaging.
Solitude is pretty standard game play, easy to figure out in the 3rd person view, you explore the area, and have to solve puzzles so you can progress to the next area, for example you may need to move a stage light so that it shines on an area which in turn may make some steps appear, or more the light away and a door may become unlocked. Once you figure out how to do this, you can pretty much work your way through the level, all the while enjoying what are some amazing hand drawn graphics, now you do need a decent graphics card to get the best out of this game graphics wise, so do be warned.
Symmetry, you play as a robot on wheels, you meet a companion and together you will try to pass obstacles and area, you may need to control a lift by mirroring yourself with the lift, or open and close gates, all in all this is a completely different experience to that of Solitude, and I found it much harder too. But once I got the hang of it, and with a bit of trial and error I found myself confident in what I was doing and so passed through the level.
In the video below you can see a couple of minutes from both Solitude and then Symmetry to get an idea of the game play, keep in mind I had to have the graphic settings on low to get everything running as smooth as I can.
The Good
A fascinating idea for a game, with glorious graphics (if your PC can handle them), and a lovely engaging story.
The Bad
Once you figure out the basic idea for one of the 5 play styles, you will quickly complete it, so the game in that sense is quite short.
And unless you have a powerful PC you may not be able to truly enjoy the incredible graphics.
Overall
Although the game is short, it is enjoyable, and best of all you can play the Solitude level for free as part of a Prologue release on Steam.
An enjoyable game that I score 7/10
Review By Jon Donnis
