The company of gaming veterans, which is better known for the ports of well-known projects with the support of Sony, released its biggest game ever Where the heart leads… An indie story follows the Anderson family, whose head, Wit, observes a huge rift in the ground next to his farm one dark stormy night. Trying to save his beloved dog, the main character finds himself at the bottom of the gorge, moving between the past, present and future, observing the alternative realities of his own unremarkable life.
The story, which begins in the childhood of the hero, takes the players into his youth and beyond the present. This is a dream or other dimensions – you have to find out on your own, but the authors constantly propose choices that should shape the character of the characters and lead to one of hundreds of possible endings. And although on paper it all looks very tempting, in reality Where the Heart Leads suffers from a drawn-out plot, illogical actions of characters and “surprises” that only cause a sad grin.
In the first chapters from a glorious childhood, holes from the so-called variable choices are already visible. If you tell your mother about your father’s debts or the fault of your older brother, everything will lead to the same consequences. And here, as well as later, the choice cannot be canceled, and the game does not warn that after a decision it is impossible to roll it back. For example, when discussing the sale of a plot with a virtual wife, you can offer to build a house there, she will agree, but will give possible arguments about the potential difficulties. If you decide to discuss more options, then the option with construction will be immediately crossed out, and the spouse will sell the land. These are the moments that spoil the main game narrative, causing disappointment.
In addition, despite the fact that the authors take pride in over 600,000 written dialogue characters, 99% of them are just idle chatter about nothing, devoid of sarcasm or diving. Just empty talk. Breaking through such walls of text is simply boring.
The psychological aspect that demonstrates the complex relationship between siblings and parents with children also fails completely. The game teaches that listening to Brother Sage is always a commercial failure, and everything must be done as you think is right, not to mention the wife who sits on her head when making concessions and ungrateful children.
However, Where the Heart Leads is not limited to the dull and poorly motivating plot of the player. Most of the time, you run around a limited area, interacting with all possible characters, since often the game does not give direct instructions on the actions that you need to take. If such tips are present, then finding the right house is almost impossible due to the lighting effects covering the signs (they promise to fix it with a patch), and the camera that goes wildly beyond the textures. The typeface in conversations sometimes becomes too small and unreadable – even on a 75-inch TV. Dialogues can be activated only by approaching the heroes from a certain side.
