Heal Reviews
Heal isn’t a long game; it’ll likely take you only a couple of hours to reach its conclusion, with a pause to shout at that one frustrating puzzle. But you’ll still be engrossed by this OAP’s otherworldly outing.
Heal: Console Edition is a point and click, puzzle adventure which made its original release on PC (Steam) in April 2020. It comes from Jesse Makkonen, the developer of the Distraint series. The port onto consoles is by Ratalaika Games. For fans of Makkonen, does this offering live up to the standard of his previous releases? There’s only one way to find out, read this Rapid Review!
Heal: Console Edition is a great puzzle game that tells us about the daily life of an old man who lives alone. Its wide variety of puzzles and its attractive mental challenge ensure that it does not decline at any time. On the contrary, the adaptation of the touch controls of the original game to the pad has not been achieved with good results and solving the puzzles with traditional buttons ends up being boring and tedious.
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Unfortunately, I don’t think the game particularly explores themes of ageing and dementia in any clear or substantial way. At least, not other than creating a quiet, lonely atmosphere punctuated by moments of fear. The music mostly rests in gentle, bittersweet melancholia, but occasionally drops a tingling sense of danger. It’s got a lovely main soundtrack, and the visual style is muted but pleasant to the eye. So at least Heal has the mood, if not the words. While disappointed that there wasn’t much in the way of a story, I think Heal holds up well enough as a puzzle game. The art, music and Switch touchscreen controls get a thumbs up.