I was agonising over what game to review this week for two reasons: 1. The only new thing out is Dark Souls 3 which is not the sort of game you can power through over a weekend (I still need to play the first game) and 2. I've had a recurring headache all week, so the last thing I want to do is play a game.
Once again, the only way I could function was by chugging on pills - except whilst I'm able to look at a screen for a few hours before it feels like I've been stabbed in the brain, I can't even play games this time. I'm sorry if you're getting annoyed that I'm having to compromise my reviews for the sake of my health, but please know that this is at least a hundred times more annoying for me than you.
I was about to just call it a week when suddenly PC Gamer published a really quick article about a mobile game that had just come to Steam: A Blind Legend. I usually take PC Gamer's recommendation with a pinch of salt, since these are the guys who, like any other mainstream publisher, repeatedly sell themselves out. That's really the only way you can get ahead in life; hence why I haven't been paid a penny for these reviews because I want freedom. I want to say when a game's bad, I want to be able to call out evil Triple A publishers, I want to give more obscure works a spotlight, and I want the ability to shun the third instalment of a series I've never played.
But I was immediately sold on A Blind Legend because it's a game specifically designed for the visually impaired. Not only is this a fascinating concept, but it means I can play a game without wanting to tear my skull out of my face. I can shut my eyes, lie on my bed, and still be playing a game. My prayers had clearly been answered.
Of course, this isn't the first game of it's kind; so I'm already jaded that the game should advertise itself as such. Though, I could be wrong but I don't think any other game without visuals has gone this far. Not only is this on Steam, but it's a popular iOS mobile game, All the other games for the blind I can think of were merely vague experiments, rather than a fully fleshed out and legitimate experience. This makes me feel awful because I imagine it's bad enough being blind already without also being unable to play video games. If you're able to read this now then you are in a hugely privileged position.
A Blind Legend is a fantasy game where you play as Edward Blake, a blind knight. You're wanted for...some reason so you decide to head off to...somewhere that's inconveniently placed at the other end of a tea-stained map filled with various obstacles and geographical anomalies. Accompanying you is your daughter, who acts as your guide. She lets you know which directions to move, and you navigate areas by following her voice.
The game was developed in France, and it shows. The dialogue is awkward, likely due to the translation - which is a bit of a problem seeing there's no graphics. I was hoping that the game would compensate for the fact it has no graphics by making the writing outstanding, but there's nothing you wouldn't see in a conventional game. A fairly poor conventional game.
I understand why you need to play as a blind knight, otherwise it would be strange that brave Sir Blake keeps gaily running off cliffs...though I often do this in normal games too. But this does beg the question of how he's a knight in the first place. It's entirely possible to gain power with a visual impairment, yet quite a few knightly duties require tasks a blind person just cannot do. It feels as though your not playing a blind man but you're playing a standard fantasy with a blind man dropped into it.
Maybe this is the point. Maybe the game is just trying to be a run-off-the-mill fantasy but for the blind. Yet I feel the potential has been wasted here. Since the gameplay is unique, it would help also if the story was too. What if you were a blind everyman, the sort who's always excluded from adventure because of your visual impairment? It would be really inspiring to have a blind person become a hero by not only overcoming standard obstacles but your own disability as you rise from a commoner to a saviour. Or, better yet, what if you were already a skilled knight when suddenly you lost your eyesight? The game could be a simultaneous journey to save the day whilst also coming to terms with your impairment and finding a way to work around it. But no. It's exactly the same story you've heard before and the game doesn't take advantage of your blindness being the only unique thing about it.
This being said, the game has issues with the gameplay itself too. Whilst I understand why headphones are essential to play this, the game should clarify that you need a really, really good pair of headphones. Standard in-ear ones and even standard over-ear ones really hinder the experience. The combat works fine, with it being clear enough where the enemy is, but when you're moving quite often your daughter will say you need to walk straight ahead whilst her voice sounds as though it's coming from the left or right hand side - and vice-versa. This kinda hinders the most important gameplay mechanic, guys...
Since there's no visuals, it's impossible to tell when it's a cut-scene and when gameplay is handed back to you. The game attempts to address this by making a noise, but this noise only ever plays during the loading screens - which is unnecessary since there's already a voice saying "loading." Even then, there's a short delay between the game sounds cutting off and the noise playing. Meanwhile, cutscenes are given no introduction and no sign that the gameplay's returned to you.
The combat is by far the most refined part. Not only does drawing and sheaving your sword make a distinctive noise, but you draw and sheave the sword automatically meaning it's easy to tell when a fight's about to start and when it's over. It's an intense experience listening to your enemy move around you, waiting for them to strike then quickly counter-attacking. Normally I don't pay attention when gamepad vibration is added, but here it means that when I block a blow I can feel my shield beginning to splinter.
But even the best part's been compromised. Whilst the game for some reason gives you a tutorial for how to shield-bash twice in a row, there are several other times when you're given absolutely no hint of what to do. Once I was fighting an unidentified but fierce-sounding sea monster, but the game didn't give any indication that I actually needed to walk around a bit before coming into fighting distance. Another time I was up against a group of archers and was completely stuck because I'd never encountered archers before and I was given absolutely no hint about what I should do. In a conventional game, I could've used visual clues, but here I was literally in the dark.
Speaking of the tutorial, the game is actually narrated. The main menu is a voice scrolling through options like the world's best support hotline, the voice also gives you a brief introduction, and explains gameplay mechanics in addition to informing you when the game's loading and when you've gone back to the menu. The problem is that the voice is a robot. It's a female voice you'd hear in a cheap elevator. It sounds as clunky as the animations you make on those websites by just typing in the text and hitting 'create.'
This grates so horribly. You're in the middle of an immersive fantasy environment when suddenly a robot chips in saying "to avoid the rocks raise your shield." The game even begins with the robot saying "You are Edward Blake" like if Stephen Hawking voiced the opening to Lord Of The Rings. It completely ruins the experience every single time she chips in. It would have been fine if the voice was just used to navigate the menu, but you couldn't have got a real person to do the in-game parts? You really had to use a text-to-speak programme for your epic adventure?
Probably the most annoying part of the game is it's checkpoint systems. These are way too far apart, so if you die during an action sequence then you'll likely have to not only re-do the sequence you died in but the sequence prior to that also. Worse, if you pause the game then you can't resume the game. You can only go back to the checkpoint! It's absolutely ridiculous!
You see, I'm not blind but I really wanted this to be great because I can see people with perfectly fine eyesight playing similar games. Maybe it's because I enjoy audio-drama's, but at times I found the game much more immersive than if it had been fully rendered. I closed my eyes, listened to the wind whistling, and imagined I was on a snowy mountain path. As a writer myself, I know the power of imagination. When the game works, it works perfectly. It's just a shame it only seldom works.
Overall, I'm disappointed yet still optimistic. I want people to play this game, observe what it does right, make note of where it fails, and create more games for the blind. However, this game will only serve as a starting point; not the shining example.
