Next Life – PC – Review

After a terrible accident our character finds himself in another
world. Is this what happens after death? The game’s story is very intriguing
indeed, but soon you find yourself in a linear game solving puzzle after puzzle
trying to make sense of this new world.

The characters in the game look absolutely awesome. I cannot
think of another game that I have personally reviewed where the characters look
so good. Unfortunately while playing, it becomes difficult trying to find the
key areas in the landscape that you need to click on to bring up the next
screen. Yes, you can get some help by pressing the E key to show you the exit
areas, but you quickly find yourself relying on this rather than trying to find
it on your own. In short, if your cursor is not exactly on the right spot, you
can’t move on. Just gets a bit frustrating in my opinion.

Gameplay is extremely slow. There seems to be a constant delay
between actions of a few seconds, which had me actually yelling "C’mon!" Also
when trying to solve some puzzles you have to talk to characters two and three
times to make something work even if you have all the tools you need to solve
the puzzle. This makes for a long frustrating journey that gets boring rather
quickly.

I loved the plot. The idea of what happens after death is sure
to spark curiosity in most of us regardless of any religious belief. However,
this is quickly forgotten as you just try and make your way through the world
asking questions to help solve puzzles. You are guided as to what you can and
cannot take regardless if it’s the right thing to do. I’m sorry, but if I want
to steal something to make my journey easier, I should be able to and have
consequences for doing so. This would have made for a more dynamic game. Instead
I felt that no matter what I did, I was following a pre-determined course. I
might as well read a book. That probably would have been a bit more
entertaining.

Review Scoring Details for Next Life

Gameplay: 6.0
Slow and monotonous

Graphics: 8.0
Nice looking landscapes and much detail on most objects

Sound: 6.0
Nothing to write home about and so-so character acting.

Difficulty: Medium
Some of the puzzles are very difficult do within the time constraints.

Concept: 7.0
Though it may feel like a very dynamic game at first, in reality it is very
linear. No matter what you do you are steered to accomplish certain objectives
before you can move on.

Overall: 6.0
Too slow for my liking, I wouldn’t play this game again even in the next
life.