Black The Fall Reviews
Black The Fall is a special game. The prodigious range of puzzles and platforming mechanics present rival that of a game ten times longer than it, and the visual and auditory treat on offer elevates that gameplay to an incredibly high standard. You'll witness the human race at its very worst through some horrifying imagery, but this presents itself as more of a gas to fuel a revolution. Black The Fall is a remarkable experience that will stay with us for a long time, and it's one that you must not miss out on.
Black the Fall by Sand Sailor Studios is one of the better platformers that I've played in a while. With both Nick and myself having previewed it at various stages of development I'm both confident and happy to say that the final product has been worth the seemingly long development time.
I love games that are clever, beautifully designed, tell an amazing story and make you feel for something or someone. Black the Fall ticks all my boxes. Enjoy.
In general, Black the Fall has conquered us, above all by the harshness of its setting and its denunciation of the total regimes and the control of modern citizens / consumers. An excellent recreation of the futuristic myth of Orwell and a wake-up call so that we do not let ourselves be controlled by the Big Brother. Deep, entertaining and technically very surprising.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you can push through some frustrating moments during the opening hour, Black The Fall offers challenging puzzles with a thought-provoking narrative.
Black The Fall not only succeeds in Sand Sailor Studio's aim of bringing attention to the Communist history of Romania but it also stands strong as an excellent puzzle platformer. The use of unique devices and companions ensures that you never solve the same puzzle twice and the excellent design ensure that every moment of your journey to escape from oppression is enjoyable.
Black The Fall beautifully and subtly shows the oppression in communist country. Great logic platformer for two-hour session.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Black The Fall isn't exactly revolutionary when it comes to the world of atmospheric platformers, but it still excels in what it sets out to do.
As with similar titles in the puzzle-platformer genre, Black The Fall lacks replay value. Still, this is a fantastic game and an exemplary showcase for what the medium is capable of. All of its elements are designed so that they don't conflict with one another. The visuals are stylish, but never at the expense of playability or comprehension. It relies on the background to tell its story, and superbly crafts the surrounding area with puzzles. No matter what happens, the player is always able to follow exactly what's going on. This is all accomplished without a single written word, and it's absolutely brilliant.
A unique premise and heavy interplay of gameplay and narrative elevates Black The Fall above its rather stock standard game mechanics.
Life in 1980's Communist Romania was stupidly harsh. Freedom of speech was nonexistent. Any anti-government whisper improved the chance of receiving a terrifying visit from the Securitate, Romanian secret police, which pressured families and neighbors to snitch on one another. Writer, journalist, and photographer became some of the most dangerous professions; citizens who engaged in these passions risked, for the crime of "denigrating the socialist reality," a minimum of six years in prison or a maximum of being disappeared, never to be embraced or gazed upon by loved ones again.
Overall, if you are a fan of games like Limbo and Inside, then the chances are you’ll enjoy Black The Fall thanks to the similar mechanics and puzzles. Just don’t expect anything new or different being brought to the table. If you’re a newcomer to the genre however, be prepared for a lot of trial and error and potentially some frustrated hair pulling or broken controllers if you’re prone to a bit of rage quitting.
Impressive processing of the Romanian revolution in 1989, which has minor weaknesses when it comes to game mechanics.
Review in German | Read full review
While most players will likely see where its influences lay, the dystopian world of Black The Fall succeeds on many occasions in creating a distinctly disquieting atmosphere, while a trial-and-error-based puzzle design offers just enough interactivity to keep its spooky narrative kicking.
In many ways, Black: The Fall is just the ordinary that everyone would expect but its gameplay, nevertheless, must be considered as a positive point, though you will find the puzzles irrelevant to the story. After a few hours of experience, you'll encounter an ending fit to the game which after, the whole game would finally make sense but, too bad since this only occurs when you're about to leave the game forever after!
Review in Persian | Read full review
The whole experience ended up being a few hours long. The likelihood is that this is a one--and-done playthrough, as once you've figured out the puzzles there really isn't a reason to play again unless you'd like to go back and look for clues to figure out the back story. I wouldn't say it's the best puzzle-platform title available, but it's unique and was worth the short time investment.
The similarities to Inside are unfortunate, but this is still a gripping and inventive action puzzler with a grim, if unsubtle, message about authoritarianism.
Through the stylishly muted visuals and the trappings of a Communist state on the brink of collapse, Black The Fall challenges you to escape its series of perilous puzzles in a bid for freedom from oppression. Though it will live in the shadows of its critically acclaimed peers and has a few rough edges, Black The Fall is a great addition to the puzzle platformer genre.
Black the Fall paints a pretty bleak picture of a quite personal dystopia. It doesn't excel at its puzzle-solving all that often, nor does it always feel well-designed, but it does well enough to keep you moving through the oppression in the hope the protagonist gets to fulfill his dream of freedom from it.
Black The Fall is an exaggeration of an Orwellian communist lifestyle but it's one that successfully drives a point home.