Black The Fall Reviews
The puzzles are interesting and the game features an art style that looks good in the player's eyes, while at the same time its lifespan feels too short and has nothing to offer beyond the main objectives.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Listen, as dystopian and mostly monochrome platform puzzlers go, Black the Fall isn't bad. But I can't tell you it's great either.
Black: The Fall is a game inspired by contemporary puzzle platformers that struggles to reciprocate inspiration.
Black the Fall is... okay. Not the worst atmospheric puzzle-adventure out there, but also very far from the top steps of the podium. A strong, oppressive atmosphere can get you places, but a game of this kind still needs a good plot, and some gameplay mechanics that are more than decent.
Taking on some heavy subject matter, Black The Fall has moments that will live in the memory once it's all over. And while Sand Sailor's game might be on the brief side and occasionally frustrating, it's also perfectly fine. But that's about the long and short of it.
The inspiration behind Black The Fall should be enough to draw an audience. The problem is, if you were judging the game with no prior knowledge or understanding of communism, you may not enjoy it as much as someone who is informed about the themes dealt with – as obscure as the interpretation may be at times.The visual narrative throughout is all that's offered to help understand the game's universe; fortunately it does a satisfactory job shaping the world. The puzzle elements are not groundbreaking, but when mixed with the platforming provide a rewarding experience that is similar to the likes of LIMBO. The major blemish is the performance and reduced visuals. The sluggish performance ultimately makes this a far less enjoyable game to play on the Switch, and the below average visuals can make it tricky to distinguish what is going on at times. If you think you can tolerate this, what is on offer is a relatively short-lived title that will make you think in more ways than one.
If you were to take a step back and look at Black the Fall on a purely reductive level, it would be hard to find an overwhelming thread of originality. The game is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle/platformer, from in independent studio, set in a futuristic dystopian wasteland. Despite sounding the by-product of game design Mad Libs gone horribly awry, it still manages to hold together as a singular experience. Sure, there are plenty of, “where have I seen this before?” moments, but these are spread far enough apart to still feel at least slightly non-conventional. Unfortunately, the proverbial meat of the experience consists of interesting concepts that are executed poorly. Much like what the player will encounter during several puzzles, gameplay itself feels like an ill-informed leap of faith that elicits more far exasperation than elation. Toe the edge carefully and think twice before taking this plunge.
The main problem of Black The Fall lies not in political bias, but in absolute unoriginality of the whole project. Snatching a bunch of design decisions and mechanics from more successful colleagues, the developers failed to turn them into an interesting story and challenging puzzle game.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Black the Fall isn't the most unique or ambitious title in the puzzle platforming genre, but it's a welcome and impressive first effort from Sand Sailor Studio.
Though Black The Fall's presentation is beautiful, the combination of sluggish controls, trite puzzles, and a weak conclusion makes this journey a hard sell
It all comes down to a game that, while not terrible, isn't going to set the world on fire.
Black The Fall is an atmospheric 2D puzzle platformer, and although it creates an interesting tone, the game itself can't quite hold up against the titans of the genre.
Though Black deserves credit for adding new puzzle mechanics along the way, it could've easily seen its 6-8 hour runtime chopped in half and still gotten its message across. That entire time I found myself wondering if, like Inside, Black would have anything to say. When I finally discovered its message at the end of the campaign, it did inspire me to look up the real-life issue it was drawing attention to and learn more about it. I applaud it for that. Sure, it could've done so with a bit more subtlety – it's a bit heavy-handed at the very end – but at least Black does have a point to make. It's just a shame that it wrapped that in a game that's so shamelessly and distractingly derivative.
Overall, Black the Fall is a pretty good ride with a bit of a story to tell, though without words and dialogue the interpretation of that story falls on you. Throughout the few hours I played it I was consistently challenged and periodically take aback by some of the clever solutions that could be reached through a bit of experimentation. Cognizant of how difficult the game is and how often you’ll die the fact that you rarely get backtracked much is a relief and much appreciated. If you’re looking for something a bit different, and maybe a little aggravating, it will provide several hours of head-scratching entertainment.
Overall, Black: The Fall is a fun and challenging game that is suitable for those who wants a game full of mind-blowing puzzles. It may not be as fun and unique as Limbo and Inside, but Black deserves a credit.
Black the Fall is an enjoyable, devilish platformer and one that deserves a tremendous amount of praise, however what it lacks is character and narrative, and this is what sadly prevents it from joining the top ranks of other titles in the genre.
Black The Fall experienced a heart transplant, but survived. Deprived of gothic charm, game became history of liberation struggle against the totalitarian regime. No hidden meanings and vague allegories: this is a walk through dystopia, which aimed at reminding the player about Romanian way through the 20th century (according to the developers). The project, deeply reminiscent of INSIDE, unexpectedly gets to the promise of 1979 Revolution: Black Friday — to a certain extent, and in a grotesque manner. And from a slightly awkward, but not so bad clone turns... well, not in a beautiful swan with a strong personality, but in the project with its own voice.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Black the Fall definitely isn't for the casual gamer; it's crazy tough, but for someone looking for a fun challenge it's worth a try – or two, or three… since you'll be dying. A lot.
Black The Fall is a decent way to spend a few hours, with good puzzles, fun world-building, and great design that's all let down by a lack of any real depth.
A stylish, bleak puzzler which overcomes many of its flaws through tightly polished delivery.