Fragments of Him Reviews
There's a fascinating story here, but it's seemingly stretched out just to justify a price point comparable to That Dragon, Cancer, at the expense of quality.
A beautiful, smart, mature and emotionally deep experiment in interactive narration. If you're looking for "traditional" gameplay, though, stay as far as possible from it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In the end, Fragments of Him is a well thought out story that ultimately is undone by its gameplay choices.
As a videogame, Fragments of Him falters far too often, providing very little interactivity, and dragging things out to pad the brief runtime. Yet there's something here worth experiencing from a narrative perspective. This is a well-written eulogy of a recently deceased man by the people whose lives intertwined with his, covering his flaws, strengths, and sexuality in frank and brutal fashion.
Fragments of Him is a walking simulator that tells the story of Will, a bisexual young man worried about falling into the routine and dying in a car accident. The storytelling takes place indirectly, through monologues on staggered timelines and recited by people who have been more intimate. A narrative at times exceptional and exciting, but spoiled by a technical realization closer to the demos of the indie scene.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Fragments of Him feels like an uncomplete package, a short and quite disappointing experience that fails to go satisfyingly deeper in its characters development and move us.
Review in French | Read full review
Fragments of Him deals with a complex theme, not so easily represented in videogames: death. During the two-hour long path that leads the player to the end, the Sassybot team ask us to reflect on the sense and the consequences of the loss, but also on the value of objects and memories. Wheter or not Fragments of Him was able to reach its goal may be subjective, but the game and the concept are still admirable.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A game about love, loss and the human condition, Fragments of Him is a quality, narrative-driven affair with a message. It is, however, more of an interactive movie than a game, not to mention one that moves at a very slow pace. As such, it won't be for everyone.
A heart-wrenching tale that would have been better off as a film than a video game.
A walking simulator-esque introspective visit into a young man's life.
If you're interested in a good story, this 2 hour game is a good one and well worth it. If you're looking for more interactivity and gameplay, you may want to pass. The message of this game is very touching and bittersweet though.
Fragments of him handles loss and sexual orientation, two very tricky topics, in a sensitive way. Having experienced profound loss myself, I applaud the approach the developers took since the feeling of loss is very real in this game and it is presented in a proper way. A big message presented by the game, and one I approve of, is that if you're feeling depressed about loss or about your sexuality and how things are evolving around you, then you should seek help – there is no shame in asking others for their support! Fragments of Him is a great walking simulator with an excellent story and one you should pick up on PS4 today!
Fragments of Him is a solid walking simulator that deals with some delicate topics in a sensitive way, with a focus on story above all. Sure, the game looks nice, but its minimalist art style might not be everyone's cup of tea. Hopefully that won't keep you from playing this short but meaningful release as you'd be missing out on a good walking simulator.
Honestly, I might be pushing it with the gameplay being lackluster and the abundance of loading screens, but this game deserves credit where credit’s due. I may not have connected with it emotionally, the style of story told - whilst not for everyone - is something I’m sure will hit home or strike a chord for some people and whilst I didn’t focus on the value of loss. It definitely gave me food for thought of expressing a narrative that felt genuine and earnest.
Developers at Sassybot should be proud of the brave choices they made covering these rarely talked about topics.
The story is beautifully haunting, with flawed characters yet a deep undercurrent of pure, unadulterated love. It is about taking time for emotions to ebb and flow before moving from one scene to another. About understanding what motivates a person's actions. About life and death and every incredible or miserable memorable moment.
But what marks Fragments as distinct—as, partly, in poetry—is its reliance on metaphor: the constituent parts of these memories are the physical objects the player interacts with, but they come to stand in for the personal, emotional connotations that accrete upon all of our things.
Fragments of Him is masterfully written, with impeccable dialogue that’s realistic, emotive and never clunky or awkward
Fragments of Him tells a powerful story of love and loss but suffers from limited interactivity and repetition.
Fragments of Him is a rare example of a game that is made worse by being interactive, and features a narrative likely better told as a short film. A strong core concept is stretched too thin; clunky mechanics and terrible pacing make the game's two-hour length feel far too long, and ultimately removes any emotional impact the game may otherwise have. It's a shame, as the game is tackling difficult concepts - the death and mourning of a loved one - that are not frequently addressed in video games.