Rime review
Rime is a beautiful game about adventure and exploration. It never stoops to hand-holding, instead choosing to remove the training wheels at the get-go. As a result, Rime feels like both a game from another time and a passion project, and those two factors carry this ambitious title to remarkable heights.
In the first scene, a young boy wakes on the shores of a strange place; it’s up to him (and the player) to find out where he is and how to get home. The story unfurls like a Zelda game or Shadow of the Colossus. Instead of acting as a tour guide, Rime invited me progress at my own pace. I was free to wander across a mysterious island, uncover collectibles, and put together the pieces of a moving story.
A key piece of Rime’s nonlinear storytelling (and thoughtful worldbuilding) comes in the form of collectibles. Treasures and artifacts litter the island, tucked away in corners, caves, and cliffs; none of them expound upon the game’s main narrative, but they do provide additional levels of life in a game where those elements already appear in copious amounts.
Path of light
A shroud of mystery and magic shrouds the island, its inhabitants, and the boy’s journey…but it’s all beautiful. The vibrant colors and weather effects transported me into Rime’s world. I love games that let players immerse themselves, almost to the point taking on the persona of the protagonist; Rime succeeded in that aspect, and I quickly realized just how special the game is.
Rime exudes a sense of loneliness as a core theme. Despite the presence of animal life (and a delightful fox that befriends the boy), there’s a solitude that becomes inescapable. That sensation runs the gamut of reactions from “pleasant” to “disconcerting,” and a lot of that has to do with the game’s silence.
The developer — Tequila Works — decided to forego written text or dialogue, which may have been the best decision they made. Rime’s island overflows with life, and that abundance comes across because of the impeccable audio design. Environmental noises and ambient sounds go a long way, but the game’s soundtrack is otherworldly and emotive on an entirely different level. I constantly felt myriad emotions, and I know that the music and environmental storytelling are to blame for stirring up so much feeling.
If you ever played a Zelda or Team Ico game, you already know what to expect from Rime’s gameplay. For all its exploration and illusions of an open world, the game gates progress behind puzzles. This might sound like a turnoff, but environmental clues, cleverness, and patience were the only tools needed to tackle every obstacle in the game. (Of course, some puzzles were harder than others, and not all of them could be deemed “fun,” but none of them frustrated me too much.)
In a nutshell
Rime is part ABZU, part Zelda, and all environmental storytelling. I can think up bones to pick but, in the end, the beautiful world made me feel something from start to finish in a way I can only compare to Valiant Hearts. (And for those of you who played that game, you know just how significant that statement is.) As someone who’s been a gamer for two decades, I can tell you that it’s rare to find this kind of experience in any medium; I’m grateful to have found it here.
You may like Rime if you enjoyed Journey, ABZU, the Zelda franchise, or the Team Ico games.
Pros
+ Worldbuilding
+ Sound design
+ Emotional story
Cons
- A few clunky puzzles