Albedo: Eyes From Outer Space Review – Xbox One

Sometimes, the concept of a game is its strongest attribute. This is definitely the case with Albedo: Eyes From Mars.

Imagine if the third and fourth-rate adventure games of the mid-to-late-90’s never evolved as time went on but continued to be produced; that’s what it feels like to play Albedo. It feels like a game made by a developer who hasn’t played a game (or even seen a game) for over 20 years, with access to modern dev tools. It can be difficult to review a bad game, because so much of what we define as “good” and “bad” comes down to personal preference. That being said, I’ll do my best to demonstrate why this is a truly bad video game, regardless of my own tastes in gaming, and why the concept behind Albedo is stronger than the game itself.

Albedo: Eyes From Mars is a 3D environmental puzzle game with a solid atmosphere that draws inspiration from sci-fi b-movies of the 50’s and 60’s. You play as a security guard for a mysterious research facility of questionable practices. During your shift, an explosion knocks you unconscious and you awake in the basement- left to fend for yourself against the secret subjects and experiments that live in the facility’s depths. It’s a clever premise that is helped by a campy, retro motif. The plot is slow to ramp up, but once it does, you’ll find yourself somewhat invested in its outcome, which is fairly clever in terms of tying together all of the various plotlines.

On the positive side, the storyline is compelling enough to see you through, should you be able to power through the many and varied negative aspects of the game (more on those in a minute). The world, when you are able to get a good look at it, is stylized, varied, and sometimes even pleasing to the eye. The alien/monster designs are interesting and pay respects to b-movie creature designs, and there’s a certain charm to the overall design of the game that invites you in. That is, of course, until you start actually playing. That’s when all of those positives go right out the window.

Where do I even begin with this game’s many issues? The first thing you’ll notice is a frame rate that peaks and dips at seemingly random times from start to finish. Then, there’s the almost-incomprehensible UI design that will often leave you unsure of what to do and how to do it. You’ll also have to deal with a poorly written script made worse by a genuinely terrible vocal performance, surroundings that are dark and unintelligible, unintuitive game play and level design, and puzzles that range from simple to completely obtuse. I understand this game was made by a single developer, but that doesn’t excuse what the final product turned out to be.

If anything, Albedo is proof that one-man studios aren’t always a good thing. Sometimes during the course of development, a second pair of eyes are needed to help ensure that the game not only matches the creator’s vision, but is also enjoyable, intuitive, fun, and playable. I experienced none of these things during my time with Albedo. Every moment was spent saying to myself “I don’t want to do this… I don’t want to be playing this game.” I’ve rarely looked forward to never having to play a game again as much as I did with this one- avoid it at all costs.

Screenshot Gallery




Author: Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy is a freelance writer/artist based in Portland, Or. In addition to handling game reviews, he also writes comics, novels, and short stories. For more information feel free to check out chibicomicspdx.tumblr.com or twitter.com/chibi_mike.

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