Past Cure
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Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Past Cure
Past Cure never does anything special. Every time it tries to do something interesting, it immediately forgets about it and does something else. Don't get me wrong: it's not a bad thing to include a number of genres within one game. In fact, it can help keep it fresh if they serve as a breather from a strong central idea. The problem is that Past Cure has no strong central idea to take a break from or return to. Whether it's the initially compelling yet convoluted supernatural story or the interesting gimmicks that never leave the tech demo phase, it's a disorganized bundle of ideas that are never given a chance to develop into something out of the ordinary.
Phantom 8 Studio shouldn't be discouraged from future attempts at delivering a cinematic experience of a game on par with triple-A output, because they still have some neat ideas and directions to take.
The only positive thing I can say about Past Cure is that I've taken this hit and played the game for you so that you don't have to. In a time where I believe games are better than ever, I implore you to spend your hard-earned free time cozying up to literally any other game — even Superman 64. Past Cure is not just the worst game I have played over the past few years; it's now on the shortlist of worst games I've ever played in my life.
Past Cure wants to be something great, and that ambition is the only thing it has on its side. This is a game that is flawed to its core. The mangled story and shoddy design prevent any single aspect from ever sticking out as something special. Don't even risk taking a bargain bin flier on this one. You'll only end up frustrating yourself.
Past Cure is a mixture of good intentions: unfortunately, it ends up putting too much flesh on the fire, and attempting to keep together various playful and narrative elements, it fails to deepen anyone. The result is a dull, tedious experience, with unjustified difficulty peaks and terribly long, boring sections.
Review in Italian | Read full review
One of the worst games of the generation, but at least it's an interesting failure – with almost comical attempts to mimic everything from Max Payne to Silent Hill.
Past Cure is an odd mash of Max Payne, The Evil Within, Heavy Rain, and a bit of Inception, without ever fully realizing any of those influences—compartmentalizing each section instead of creating a unique blend. Ideas teased early on never come into play, with nightmares and the real world staying largely separate from one another until the script calls on them not to be. An intriguing narrative is interrupted by long bouts of boring wave-based shooting against generic enemies in dull locations. I can't help but think of the early moments in Ian's house, seeing ceramic horrors in reflections and being excited for a cinematic psychological-horror action game that would never come to be.
Past Cure is a game that tries to do too much at once to the extent that it ends up doing none of it well.
