State of Mind Reviews
You're better off sticking to reality and avoiding this confused and cliched state of mind.
State of Mind explores a future in which the world is in complete disarray and asks some difficult questions, but ultimately buckles under the weight of its own flaws.
State of Mind is an interesting project that prioritises its story beyond all other aspects of the experience. Unfortunately, while it does feature a very interesting narrative and a lot of compelling ideas, they are not executed very well at all. Even those acclimatised to the pacing and narrowness of other more successful 'interactive stories,' such as The Walking Dead, will find State of Mind to be inextricably rigid and overly linear. Everything encountered is positioned there to further the story. Both Berlin and City 5 lack proper secondary interactions and spontaneous encounters. Even the most linear of adventures cannot completely ignore the player's implied sense of possibility and wonder, without seriously affecting the immersion. For this reason, it's hard to feel engaged in State of Mind, despite its highly compelling story content. It might even be more enjoyable to watch a streamer play through it, than do it for oneself. Ouch.
Daedalic Entertainment's State of Mind wants players to explore the idea of what is it that makes us us, but never provides the player any real opportunity to do so. You simply follow the path and mark off another check mark. In the end all you're really doing is little more than counting electric sheep.
State of Mind offers an intriguing near-future tale that doesn't quite deliver on its initial mystery. While it's cast of flawed – and in some cases unlikeable characters – are interesting to get to know, the plotting ultimately lets things down by failing to get you invested in the story, and asking you to suspend your disbelief a few too many times. While the unique presentation proves to be an excellent fit for the setting, and helps distinguish it from the crowd, the price of entry will scare off anyone who isn't actively seeking out this type of experience.
State of Mind is so obsessed with its story that it forgets what medium it's in. While a strong storyline and adept world-building can't be denied, the game can't escape its undercooked mechanics and puzzles.
With a bit of slimming down and improvements in sound and movement, State of Mind could have been something really special. Instead, we have a rare case of a game that doesn’t live up to the promise of its art style, and that’s a real shame.
I can appreciate strong narratives that are designed to tell a story, but if you’re going to go that route you’d better be sure it’s something well worth the ride. Unfortunately, for all of its visual flair and promise you start with the ultimate ride simply doesn’t deliver consistently enough to make it much fun along the way. If you’re looking for a slow-paced reflection on the future, with a little intrigue and perhaps some cliche thrown in, it may well suit you. For everyone else you’d probably be better off enjoying the Blade Runner movies and saving yourself a few hours.
**You want to read Crime and Punishment? I have a suggestion: read The Tell-Tale Heart. There. I saved you a hundred hours.
All in all, I found the game to be interesting, and that there are few real action incidents the awkwardness of the avatar movements could objectively be viewed as another way to enforce the idea that the world is out of kilter.
In sum, it seems like the vision of State of Mind was bigger and more robust than its end result. The core idea is interesting, but the execution fizzles out early and doesn't recover. Still, if you're into sci-fi and are looking for a game to roll through on a lazy Saturday, you could do worse than State of Mind.
State of Mind boasts an interesting and compelling plot, as well as a gem of an art style and multiple characters to choose from. However, it also exhibits some visible flaws, such as a rather slow-paced, predictable plot and puzzles which are all too linear. Overall, this is a good effort but which requires some improvement if it does not want to demotivate its players too early on.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
State of Mind stands as the most ambitious brainchild of award-winning German game writer/designer Martin Ganteföhr and it executes its purpose as a satisfactory narrative-driven experience despite it uninspired setting and disappointing main character. The puzzles are benign enough as to not impact the pacing, and the questions raised aren't enough to ignite a wholly new philosophical discussion on transhumanism, but the plot hits more than it misses and remains entertaining enough throughout.
State of Mind has its moments to shine - certain plot beats in the final act do offer some genuine payoff, and some of those visuals are a joy to see running in docked mode or in handheld - but they're too often lost in a mire of storytelling cliche and science fiction tropes you've seen done better countless times before. A set of in-game achievements do help break up the lengthy plot, but the awkward voice acting and lack of cohesion between its gameplay ideas ultimately make for a muddled experience at best.
Like a sitcom with the occasional bad episode, instead of keenly anticipating what I'll uncover next in the story, I began to just long for the finale.
Pick up State of Mind if you want to experience the reconstruction of memories in two realities. Avoid it if you want something more fast-paced.
State of Mind is a game that had potential, but in the end, it offered only a decent experience and nothing more. Good adventure game, but not groundbreaking.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Another adventure game from Daedalic Entertainment. But this time not very adequate, even with absorbing theme.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
State of Mind has nothing special to offer for Sci-Fi fans and even arcade gamers, and besides that, the gameplay is slow and the potentially solid story isn't developed well enough. But it still is a step forward for Daedalic Entertainment who did a great job in designing a futuristc Berlin 30 years from now.
Review in Persian | Read full review
It's an intriguing cyberpunk story – well, the first half of it. Then it becomes a mess of clichés.
Review in Russian | Read full review