The Uncertain is an episodic sci-fi adventure game developed and published by ComonGames. While this is their first release on Steam, the company has promised a further two episodes in addition to Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day, which released in late September of 2016. By taking a look at the ComonGames website and social media accounts, it's easy to see that they're deep into the construction of Episode 2, but a release date has yet to be announced thus far.
In this post-apocalyptic adventure, humanity has been long extinct. What are currently modern conveniences to us are severely outdated, rustic, and worn down from the sands of time in this title. You will take control of an engineering robot known as RT-217NP, who is simply going about his daily rituals when a ship crash-lands near the house that he has taken residence in. While investigating the ship, RT comes across a robot pilot that was fatally wounded in the wreck, and he also discovers something that throws the entire plot line for a loop. The story is told very well, through various cutscenes, a few notes, and some dialogue options here and there, although this Episode does end on a cliffhanger.
If you've played any recent TellTale game, you will be familiar with the core mechanics of The Uncertain; you walk around, examining objects, picking them up, touching them, using them, etc. There are a lot of objects to interact with, and quite a few semi-hidden movie and game related Easter Eggs that I won't reveal here. One problem is that RT ends up getting stuck on objects while he's walking toward a destination, which could be fixed easily if the developers would introduce a set walking path to these locations. As well, the controls are a bit clunky when it comes to maneuvering RT, as he will continue to walk/run in the same direction, despite having switched directions many seconds prior.
Progressing through the game means solving numerous puzzles, or finding the appropriate objects to repair certain gizmos. While the object hunting can be tedious, since you need to examine some items in order to trigger another item's usefulness which leads to a lot of backtracking, the puzzles are actually fun. They're not very complex, but they're unique enough to be entertaining, and all of them fit the futuristic time period of the game very well. There are also a couple hover-car driving sections, where you will have to outwit a pursuant.
It's going to seem like a no-brainer to say this, but the graphics in The Uncertain are exceptional, and the title itself is very photogenic. The same can be said for the very atmospheric, sci-fi inspired soundtrack that helps tie everything together. While the graphics are reminiscent of The Talos Principle, and the gameplay is taken straight from TellTale Games, there is a distinct Primordia inspiration that shines through the robot characters. RT is genuinely curious about the human race, and through interacting with a vast majority of objects it's clear to see that his AI does not allow him to understand the functions or necessity of older items, such as bicycles and paintings. It's interesting how the developers were able to give even moderately deep life to the robots within this story.
The Uncertain: Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day is a decent puzzle-driven atmospheric sci-fi adventure game that clocks in at around 2-3 hours of play time. Unlike many other episodic indie projects, it doesn't appear that this game will be abandoned any time soon, and ComonGames are currently working on the second episode, with three planned all together. However, there is a problem when it comes down to the price, as the regular tag on this release is $16.99 CAD; bare in mind, that doesn't include the next two episodes. In comparison, The Walking Dead games sell for $27.99 CAD for all 5 guaranteed episodes; that breaks down into roughly $5.60 per episode. Here, you get one episode for the price of 4 of the aforementioned episodes. It's best to grab this one on sale, or wait until the entire season has been released.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 - Average, can take it or leave it.The Horror Network
Steam Group:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetworkSteam Curator:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork#curation 3.5