RiME Review

After a long wait, Tequila Works finally released their indie game RiME. Is this adventure worth the money, or should you just skip it altogether? Check out our review to help you make your decision.

RiME Honest Game Review

The starting cutscene of RiME shows a storm over the ocean. You awaken as a nameless boy on a nameless shore with no real direction on where to go. Scurrying your way up a small cliff, you find a statue and your first mystery. Now you have to go in search of blue lights and figure out the puzzles attached to them to activate a statue. Jumping, swimming, climbing, and interacting with the wildlife in the game will be the keys to figuring out these first puzzles. Here you also run into a mysterious red figure who disappears whenever you get close. When you get all the blue lights, the statue opens up and the journey to the large tower at the center of the island begins. The game will run you between six to eight hours, depending on how much exploring you choose to do.

For those who like to explore, there is plenty to see in RiME. The island is covered with ruins, carvings, cave drawings, and other signs of an ancient civilization. You can also swim and go underwater, letting you explore the depths to your heart’s content. Exploring also rewards you with collectibles that you can find all over the island. There are five collectibles in all, and extra gallery images as well. You can find new outfits, toys of objects from the island, emblems, lullaby sequences, and keyholes to unlock. None of these are required, but they are often the rewards for going to places you wouldn’t normally go to.

While exploring can be done, the core focus of the game is figuring out puzzles and working your way deeper in the game. Some of the puzzles are basic box puzzles and things of that nature, but there are quite a few interesting ones. There are some that have you using the game’s wildlife to clear a path for you. Others are just moving boxes and climbing up some towers or ruins. One of my favorite types had to do with depth and perspective. These involve moving statues and boxes with certain pieces on them and then using another platform to align them to create and object. Sadly these are few and far between, and most of the puzzles are pretty easy and you blow through them quickly.

Graphically, the game looks gorgeous with its own art style. The world is colorful and vibrant and I was impressed with each new area I encountered. Something else I want to give a shout out to is the music. The game has a wonderful score that helps add emotion to the game. This is important, because sometimes just moving forward figuring out the puzzles gets dull. I do want to mention that I ran into some framerate issues while playing a couple areas of the game. Outside of these issues, I didn’t run into any crashes or any major bugs.

If you’re into puzzle-adventure games, RiME may very well be up your alley. However, those looking for a deep story or a fully explained world will be left disappointed. At $30, it’s best to wait for a sale unless you are a diehard puzzle gamer.