Fragments of Him Reviews
Fragments of Him brushes with greatness, but doesn’t quite manage it. Still, its ambitious attempt at tackling several tough subjects and doing so in a game format is impressive.
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.
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
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.
Developers at Sassybot should be proud of the brave choices they made covering these rarely talked about topics.
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
A walking simulator-esque introspective visit into a young man's life.
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.
Fragments of Him is definitely an emotional ride. The “interactive movie” nature of it all helps the story along nicely, while helping to get you more invested than if you were just sitting back watching the whole time.
Fragments of Him is masterfully written, with impeccable dialogue that’s realistic, emotive and never clunky or awkward
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.
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.
Fragments of Him was an emotional journey and I'm glad I took it, it's not a long game so you can easily pick it up and have it finished (including its trophies) within two to three hours but for this kind of narrative experience, I don't see that as a negative as personally, I've not felt this attached to a film with the same length for example.
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
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.
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.
In the end, Fragments of Him is a well thought out story that ultimately is undone by its gameplay choices.
Fragments of Him tells a powerful story of love and loss but suffers from limited interactivity and repetition.
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
A heart-wrenching tale that would have been better off as a film than a video game.