Journey as a girl named Dysis destined to find Evan in a beautifully crafted pixel world.
Evan's Remains is surely to catch your eye off the bat with one thing--the gorgeous pixel art. Something of a recent phenomena with indie developers, the envelope is being pushed every day to show off this stunning medium. And when done right, it's hard to look away...or at least, that's what piqued my interest in Evan's Remains.
Not terribly long of a game clocking in at about three hours long, Evan's Remains seeks to cram a compelling narrative in a short amount of time. I'm going to be honest right up front and say this is probably not a game that's going to rattle any cages, change the world, or that sort of thing. It's fun, but generally on the whole forgettable. Still, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that its major crutch is the art involved, and will surely make some sales based on that fact alone.
The main factor to Evan's Remains' gameplay lies within monolith puzzles. The platforming was something I was really looking forward to watching the trailer, as you're meant to sort out pressure sensitive pads in a certain order to advance along. If you're stumped, you do have the option to skip the puzzles, but I would advise against it--there's a few secrets to find along the way that are actually pretty cleverly done. I will say that they're not terribly difficult in nature, but some will keep you guessing for an extra minute or two, with a nice sense of accomplishment when you finally solve.
Most of the story is backloaded with the important points sitting at the end. This gives off an impression that not much is really going on, and I won't lie here, got my cutscene skipping thumb a bit itchy at times. I'm in two minds about the ending: it ends a bit disorganised, but thankfully as long as you understand the broad strokes, you should have a good time. No doubt it will keep guessing right up until the last moment though!
It's a good game if you don't wish to commit to anything long, but enjoy a good short story in the process. As I've drove the point home about the graphics being ridiculously stunning--this might be one for you if you're a pixel enthusiast based on that alone. But if you're looking for something a bit more in depth, perhaps this won't be the title for you. It's a game that requires a little homework before purchasing, albeit not really breaking the bank with its £5.19 price tag on Steam if you're okay with putting a curious dollar down. Either way, my recommendation to read up stands, and have fun if you take the plunge!