Bandai Namco isn't a publisher that is exactly known for releasing horror games, which makes Get Even their debut into the genre; unless you care to take into account the hit puzzle-platformer Little Nightmares. Released on Steam in late June of 2017, Get Even is a psychological horror/mystery title that mixes elements of first-person shooters, stealth, walking simulators, and detective games. In theory, the genre meshing sounds like it would make for an intriguing adventure, but how well does it work out when put to the test?
For the majority of the game, you take control of Cole Black; a contracted killer who also doubles as a security guard for a technology company. The only memory that Black has is trying to save a girl that he finds in a basement, who has a bomb strapped to her torso. Although he fails to save her, Black survives the blast and wakes up in an insane asylum with only one voice of guidance; a man simply known as Red. As Black progresses through the institution, he slowly uncovers more of his memories that surround the event and circumstances of the captured girl, all the while the mysterious voice of Red urges him to continue onward.
Bandai Namco's partnership with developer The Farm 51 should be the first indication that Get Even isn't going to be an out-of-this-world experience; their catalog of releases is medicre at best, consisting of the two part NecroVision series, Deadfall Adventures, and the more successful Painkiller: Hell & Damnation reboot. That being said, Get Even isn't a horrible game by any means, but rather it flounders around in the abyss of mediocrity; it occasionally rises up to meet expectations, but then it sinks back down again to par, and sometimes sub-par, standards. This is due largely in part of the mish-mashing of gameplay genres, a feat that can work out well if done correctly, and the storytelling that gives birth to a convoluted plot that eventually gets explained, but then continues on for far too long.
It should also be noted that the three provided trailers on the store page are vastly misleading in terms of what this title is actually about and how it really plays. You may have the first impression that Get Even is equipped with a heavy Condemned: Criminal Origins influence, and while that connection is undeniable in some areas of the game, it is not as prevelant as any official footage would lead one to believe. There's also an unmistakable presence of horror in the videos that isn't actually included in the game, the best that it gets are a couple of well placed jumpscares and the rest can be classified as 'psychological action thriller' in the vein of Murdered: Soul Suspect; though with more deteriorated environments.
In some areas of Get Even you will have a gun, but at all times the developer has intended for you to be stealthy so that you can get the "good ending" when you finally finish your 7-8 hour excursion. In other areas, you will be exploring locations with your phone and using it to scan objects for evidence. At other times, you will simply be walking around, experiencing memories of events. Choosing to be as stealthy as possible, as well as finding all of the evidence in each chapter, will extend your gameplay time to around 13-15 hours. The playtime-to-price ratio is exceptionally generous, especially when considering that the game's optimization is top tier and the graphics are high grade; at fully maxed settings at 1080p resolution, I experienced nothing less than 144 FPS at all times on my GTX 1080/i7-6700k rig.
Bringing it back around to the plot of the game, Get Even tries too hard during its early stages to be needlessly mysterious. Though you are uncovering Black's broken, fragmented memories, the overwhelming amounts of "who are they talking about now?" "who the frig is this person?" and general inability to understand even the most simplistic version of what is actually going on will turn a lot of people off during the first few hours. Though everything is eventually explained in great detail, the title continues to explain the same things over, and over, and over, and over again to make sure that audiences understand; this leads to the entire experience dragging on for much too long.
In other words, Get Even really doesn't do anything to reinvent the horror wheel, or even contribute to its advancement. It's a mash-up of ideas that have already been executed well by Condemned: Criminal Origins, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Assassin's Creed, Stairs, and many other titles. Additionally, genre meshing doesn't make this game any more or less interesting, and the storytelling could use some work. Neither Black or Red are captivating characters by any means, nor are any of the eccentric psychos that you will meet around the insane asylum. While playtime versus price is exceptional, the rest of Get Even's charactaristics do not stand up to the expectations that it sets, which leads to disappointment in the end, and that ultimately leads to me telling you to grab this one half-off or lower.
Rating: 3.0/5.0 - Average, can take it or leave it.The Horror Network
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