Pulse
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Pulse
A faithfully promising concept with an ultimately (at the very least) questionable execution.
If Pulse had a longer, more in-depth story with evolving gameplay, it would be easily recommendable. As it stands now, it feels more like a proof-of-concept than a full-fledged game.
Sadly, Pulse is a linear experience, with a critical route that must be followed. Curiosity sapped.
What Pixel Pi Games have with Pulse is a charming tale of peril and danger, all thrown squarely at a character with a major disadvantage.
Pulse is a great idea, translating the isolation of being blind into a funky adventure of discovery. It's just not much more than that really, as the concept can be short-sighted in the long run.
Playing a blind girl helped me see how challenging it was, but I wish I saw a reason to care about the world Eva lived in.
Pulse's greatest sin is its failure to deliver on its grandiose promise. This could be a serviceable adventure but there isn't a section of the game that goes by without provoking the thought "this could have been something much more" and that pervasive feeling of disappointment is hugely damaging to the overall experience.
Pulse, if nothing else, doesn't feel finished. It feels like an alpha build that got pushed out so early it may have upset Early Access customers. While it obviously has potential (it's walked away with awards, after all), it feels largely incomplete, and like it should have been pushed through play-testing a bit further. If it gets some more depth, or, at least, if the depth it has gets fixed up and becomes more cohesive, it may live up to a lot of the hype it's generated. Until then, it's a game that exemplifies that just because an idea is good, it doesn't mean the product will be.
