Reviews:
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While the story it tells feels unique and worthwhile, the inconsistency of the mini game implementation detracts from the experience
For me Fall of Porcupine is a mix of bafflement and frustration over an experience that would have been better if it hadn’t tried to reach quite so far. Right off the bat there’s a great vibe that reminded me greatly of Night in the Woods, which was automatically a plus. Within this pretty small town there are various characters who are worth talking to and getting to know, and certainly within the hospital where you work you’ll encounter story beats both expected and unexpected. The thing is, on the whole I would have been perfectly fine with the experience stopping there, but since a variety of mini games are along for the ride I’m obligated to discuss everything presented to me, not merely what I preferred. While contextually their presence does make sense as they simulate the different care challenges you have in taking care of people with different issues who you’re treating, some work reasonably well (once you understand them) and some simply aren’t so hot. A mixture of baffling implementation in some cases with instructions that aren’t quite thorough enough in others made for a situation where I was dreading having to tackle certain issues once again, going back to exercises that were aggravating, but even for those I latched onto I didn’t feel like they ultimately added much of note to the overall story-driven experience. If you’re willing to tolerate and put aside the “action”, and instead focus on the strength of the characters and stories it has to relate, it works pretty well. Just be aware some things work much better than others.
Justin Nation, Score:Good [7.6]