Promesa Review

 

Dreamscape Journey-A Promesa Review

Its been a bit of extended break for me with a bunch of school catching up with me as of late, but I figured now was a better time than any to come back and get a new review out again! Following the release of a massive, nearly 1000 game bundle from itch.io I was able to give Promesa a shot for the first time for a game I likely would not have had to have the chance to play otherwise. With all that in mind, let's take a trip through this interactive art piece and see what it has to offer. 

Walking Through Dreams

In the simplest terms possible, Promesa is a game where you walk through dreamlike areas based on Italian and Argentinian architecture/locations as you engage in a conversation between a grandparent and grandson. In fact, the dev of Promesa even explained how for this game he spoke with his own grandfather for inspiration and based portions of the game around those conversations. 


I've played a surprisingly high number of these walking simulator/interactive art piece style games at this point, and Promesa really leans in to this museum type of  gameplay. Sincerely, all you do here is walk around and take in the visuals/audio, which is definitely less engaging than other titles in this genre I have played but Promesa is assertively not trying to be like those other titles. 


The beauty of this game is its ability to naturally set up literal art pieces as you play and explore. With each separate scene (which have variance during each 45 minute playthrough for replayability). The usage of contrast and lighting combined with its pixelated 3D style creates a unique immersive experience not quite like anything I've seen before. While it may not be the most graphically impressive feat it does allow for abstract interpretations where your mind wanders and fills in the pieces.


I would say my only problems with this game are how slow the default walk speed is and how it is barely better with the +40% walking speed option you can toggle in the menu. I understand you want us to take in every scene and immerse ourselves in them, but sometimes this can really drag as the game goes on (the game is short enough where this is not as bad as it seems, but you will feel the last 20 minutes of this 45 minute playthrough for sure). Just be sure that if you want to give this game a shot that you know it is a slow paced walk through scenes and not anything like other conventional video games. 

Verdict

I don't really want to give a review score for this game, as I felt that Promesa didn't really slot in as a video game for me. Could you really apply a score to a museum when you compare it to video games? In all, I don't really think that for $5 you can go wrong with what you are getting here, but you are seriously finding a gem if you get this through that nearly 1000 game bundle from Itch.io. Promesa ended up being more special to me than what I thought it would be, and I don't really see it as a video game (in a good way!). I'd say give it an honest chance if you are invested in these art piece type experiences, otherwise you can generally steer away (there's not much here that would bring in someone to the genre like an Abzu or Journey). 




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