Developer: MGP Studios, Solid9 Studio
Publisher: MPG Studios, REDDEERGAMES SP.Z.O.O.
Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: Switch
Project Downfall – Review
Imagine living in a dystopian world, ravaged by gangs, mobs, and other baddies. Imagine having a 9 to 5 job as a respectable citizen, living together with your wife in a wonderful new apartment. But when the night falls over the city, and the darkness creeps up on the streets, you can’t help going completely loco by night. It’s like when Batman meets John Wick in a Cyberpunk surrounding. If you want to survive, you can’t be afraid to pop some pills and go the extra mile, while it lasts. If that doesn’t lure you in, maybe sending some doors flying as new and heavy projectiles will do the trick. Anyway, it’s time to dive into Project Downfall and see if we can survive this game.
Story
Our main protagonist is a hard-working man who just loves his job. So when working his job, he lost track of time and saw that it was time to leave. Once outside he is only trying to get home, and to make matters worse, his ride gets canceled. Since he wants to get home, it’s time to find another way. But when he comes across some Russian mobsters, he starts hearing a little voice saying to end their lives. The violent thoughts manage to take over, and a story full of blood and guts begins.
Graphics
When we first saw the trailers, we found it a bit amusing to see such pixelated images in a modern gaming society. But the take on this dystopian neon-filled city and urban areas completely drew us in. The outside world leaves you stunned. The game is one big flashback to the eighties. Project Downfall is built up in pixels and it just doesn’t disappoint. The overall world is a beautiful mix between those pixels, but it does have a modern twist. The interiors of the nightclubs or the hideouts for the mobs are just wonderfully done. We did have some problems with the lighting, however. Not all the areas are well-lit and so we were shot in the back a few times by those goons that were hidden because of the game’s overall darkness. Unfortunately, dying again because of the same reason did send us back all the way to the start of said area, forcing us to begin again… and again… and again. This did become a bit frustrating, especially since it was due to poor visibility.
But this frustration could be easily forgiven, by seeing our enemies explode in front of us. Taking out enemies can sometimes be tiresome, but when you have an abundance of ways to kill, kick, or make people explode, it’s hard not to love those animations.
Sound
Who hasn’t dreamt of putting on some headphones and blasting your favorite tunes, whilst doing some boring job? Project Downfall will grant you this feeling, for it has a wide array of tunes and sounds that just make it way more enjoyable when you teach some Russian mobsters why they shouldn’t mess with you. The soundtrack ranges from upbeat tracks when you feel the rush of beating people up, to calm, and sometimes somewhat depressing music, when the world slows down back to the regular rhythm.
Gameplay
Project Downfall is an Indie FPS adventure game where you play an unnamed character that somehow resembles John Wick. As the character, we have a very good life. We have everything we could have wished for, namely a well-paid office job, a beautiful wife, and a sports car that is to be desired by everyone. Although all seems well, our life is a little bit secluded and controlled by the government.
The game does miss out on some story if you don’t explore enough. It took us hours and hours before we realized that we weren’t knowing what we were doing. In Project Downfall, there isn’t a clear narrative of the story. The only things that can indicate your advancement through the game are the news reports and magazine covers. Next to those things, it’s hard to see if you’re going down the right path.
Speaking of going on some path, we were surprised to find out this game has about four hours of gameplay, but with a staggering twelve different endings. One of the things that can affect the ending is the usage of the pills. Scattered around each level are three pills. Each pill gives you some sort of power within a limited period. These bursts of powers can aid you in taking on the missions. But remember, you only have three of them during each level, so you have to calculate when you want the power-up. But the more pills you take, the more it changes the outcome of the game. Even so, the pills give you some powers, so they can help you clear the area you’re in. You’ll have to choose what approach you like the most.
While those powers are fun to work with, the controls are clunky as hell. The game is unforgiving when it comes to aiming the guns. When our character took two shots, we had to start all over again. When we survived waves upon waves of enemies and could start dishing out some damage ourselves, the game punished us when our aim was a bit off. This more than often resulted in us having to try over and over again.
Conclusion
Project Downfall is its own downfall in many areas. It’s not that we didn’t like the game, because we quite enjoyed the frantic action. Sadly, it seems that the game doesn’t really flesh out what’s on offer, on top of its clunky controls and unforgiving difficulty level. This is one of those games that’s solely for those looking for a hardcore challenger while others might fling their controller through the TV screen.
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