ICEY Reviews
Although Icey contains an entertaining meta narrative, it really isn't much of a game.
iCEY is a brilliant idea abounding with ambition. The meta aspect is cleverly executed and the 4th wall breaking adds a ton of humor, as well as depth. The story is incredibly intricate and it leaves it up to us to think how it all fits together. It’s purposely vague, but perhaps too much so, as too many questions either go unanswered or plot points remain so tangentially out in left field that you don’t know how they’re relevant to begin with. Gameplay is noteworthy due to solid combat, but there is room for improvement and I wish there were more combos to unlock. Finally, the game is painfully short, only taking about 7-10 hours to fully complete. While making sense of the story and unlocking the true ending lends itself to many replays, I feel the game suffers from having everything crammed into such a short experience. Having said that, iCEY is definitely one to consider if you’re looking for quick bursts of destructive satisfactions or an incredibly intriguing story that challenges you to think outside the game.
ICEY is a great, if short, game that you will most certainly remember once you have put it to rest. Its clever and interesting take on both the genre and gaming, in general, keeps the surprises coming long after you have finished it.
In the end if you’ve not experienced a game that plays with concepts like these ICEY has some added value. Being prompted to think about the game and how you interact with it differently is always a bit of fun and thought provoking. Of course if you don’t have a taste for the slashing action there will be other opportunities as well. If you enjoy the genre, and appreciate a little something extra to wrap your head around, ICEY is worth your time though.
ICEY is one of the most special games that you can play in your life. Mysterious and multilayered story of the game that has its own unique narration and a delightful gameplay, makes it one of the best indie short hack 'n' slash games of these past few years; Although lack of content and being an overall short game might not be pleasant for everyone.
Review in Persian | Read full review
While the main game is weak, there's good writing here for a large number of secrets, but the delivery still makes it a bit painful to play through. Still, it is enjoyable for quite a few hours.