Fear Effect Sedna Reviews
Fear Effect Sedna conclusively stomps out any life the series had left with its shallow, malformed gameplay and disjointed narrative.
Bad puzzles, repetitive combat, and poorly designed encounters are constant companions. I respect the desire and the work that must have gone into making this revival a reality. I just wish the product would have been better for long-suffering fans.
With Fear Effect Sedna, Sushee has managed to create a different yet faithful new episode in a long forgotten cult franchise. While the gameplay mechanics are not optimal for most, and the graphics engine is sub-par for what you would expect from a 2018 title, but it's worth picking if you're a fan of Fear Effect. Here's hoping Fear Effect Reinvented, a remake of the original Fear Effect and Sushee's other project, will be a better way to showcase the French studio's talent.
Fear Effect Sedna has suffered from an internal conflict over whether to stay true to the originals or start over. There is an authenticity in approach that lifelong Fear Effect fans will no doubt appreciate, but, taking a step back to look at the game as a whole, even they may come to lament the many flaws that it is riddled with. It’s a shame, therefore, that it can’t outrun its demons.
The more masochistic crowd of gamers out there will get a kick out of the formidable puzzles and vicious death cutscenes. The pure mediocrity of the rest of the game doesn't do enough to make it a worthy recommendation, however.
With a cast of characters that are forgettable and challenging gameplay that punishes you with load times and long waits between game over screen to starting at the last check point, I would steer clear of this title unless you are a fan of the previous titles. I believe there are gamers out there who are more forgiving of these things than I am, but I couldn’t recommend it to someone without outlining the frustrations I had.
Fear Effect Sedna is vapid and vain, like a B-movie with a bit of gorgeous cinematography. Its gameplay falters miserably and even with the unmistakable atmosphere of the old games, Sedna just isn't enjoyable to sit through.
A failed attempt at resurrecting a cult favourite, Fear Effect Sedna is a tactical shooter in which tactics are largely irrelevant. Atrocious cut-scenes, dreadful boss encounters and dire presentation overall, make this something better left in the past. Steer well clear.
Fear Effect Sedna is one of those games that were I not reviewing it, I'd have stopped playing very early on. Its few redeeming qualities actually fail to redeem it at all; it's simply not a very good video game, one that could only be satisfactory to the most eager of Fear Effect fans. For everyone else, it's impossible to recommend.
Fear Effect Sedna may not be the true sequel fans were looking for, but it still delivers an enjoyable story along with creative puzzles and detailed environments. If you take the time to learn how to fully utilise the tactical mode, or you just love micro-managing things, then the combat may work out better for yourself than it did for me. If you don't mind the issues the game currently has and you are a fan of the original games then you may want to try the game out in order to see Hana and friends on their new adventure, however gamers new to the series may not enjoy the story and the setting as much as the fans.
Fear Effect Sedna is a major disappointment especially if you are a fan of the series. The game certainly is ambitious but that doesn't help it solve many of its underlying problems.
Fear Effect Sedna is sort of an interesting artifact; a game out of its own time. If only playing it was any fun.
It's sure that developers of Fear Effect Sedna are huge fans of the franchise. They had some ideas about this new episode and there are e few elements that feel compelling. But in the end, there are too many things that just don't work or frustrate the players. Too bad.
Review in French | Read full review
Fear Effect Sedna is a game that does just enough to be considered basic. Unfortunately, for fans of the Fear Effect series, this is not a triumphant return for the franchise but more so a reminder that it exists.
Underneath the pretty visuals, Fear Effect: Sedna is not a good game. The included systems all sound intriguing but in practice do little more than aggravate. This is an example of a story in the wrong medium, Fear Effect: Sedna would have made for a half decent film.
Fear Effect Sedna makes use of a beloved franchise name and ends up deliverying a totally different experience from what it is expected when the name Fear Effect is heard. If you play it and simply forget about the brilliant past two first games from the franchise, you might be able to have fun with it.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The cell shaded look of Sedna and the soundtrack are excellent, but the change in gameplay, some of the combat and the isometric look lessened my enjoyment. The puzzles and innovative ideas are great though and some of the world themes are interesting to revisit, but it most certainly left me remembering the original as the better experience.
Sedna paints a bleak future for this series. It is a sloppy mess that gets off on the wrong foot, only to shoot itself in the foot right after. It is a weird hodgepodge of body horror, cyberpunk sleaze, and secret agent shenanigans that, in theory, should work, but don't.
Fear Effect Sedna features nice and well-made animated cutscenes, strange and sometimes completely annoying puzzles, and barren gameplay with terrible controls, especially during boss fights.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Fear Effect Sedna is a bad game. Sadly, I wanted to love it simply because of my misplaced nostalgia for the original two titles.