I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE TITLE IS A REFERENCE TO.
The Long Reach is a traditional adventure game like old Sierra or Lucas Arts games, however it has no pointing and clicking. Instead the character is controlled directly using the analog stick and interacts with the environment and other characters using the face buttons. This allows for some tense chase sequences to occur. Did I mention this is also somewhat of a horror game? Well, it is.
The game starts off with a seemingly mundane trip to the convenient store and very quickly things go wrong. The majority of the game takes place in a research facility, but because things go wrong so quickly the facility becomes a really good horror environment, even though the graphics in this game are all made of pixel art. Featuring crazy lunatics roaming the halls looking to murder me, dead bodies, and the occasional table to hide under – sounds like a good time.
PLATFORMS: XB1, PS4, SWITCH, PC
MSRP: $14.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $7.99
The puzzles are fairly easy to solve. Not once did it make any impossible jumps in logic like the adventure games of long ago. Paying attention to the environment gives all the possible information a person might need except for one puzzle near the end of the game. The chase sequences were fun, not once feeling frustrating even though I’d die as the game would instantly just put me in a safe place back before it happened. There is an oddity in the controls (at least on Xbox One) where after interacting with something I needed to give the game a second to move again. I’m unsure why this is, but if I held the analog stick too soon the character would not respond to the input.
Surprisingly, this game’s main mechanic is making me feel like I’m crazy. That is not a far stretch to be fair (or a long reach… is that what the title means? I have no idea.). I really don’t want to spoil the moments that had me questioning “Did that just happen?” but know that they went so far as to make me attempt to reproduce one of these events and I never could. Bizarre is too light of a word. The only game to attempt to do something with the blurring of player and game character in my eyes was Pony Island, however that always came off as more humorous while The Long Reach is not interested in making a joke out of it.
As someone who played the game Uncanny Valley I will address that both it and The Long Reach share a lot of similarities in more than just pixel art style, however The Long Reach is much better. That being said there is the issue of plot that both titles fail at, and it’s disappointing that both titles leave me somewhat unsatisfied. Without spoiling the story, The Long Reach basically has the main character figure out the cause of the chaos around him and of course how to stop it. A simple main goal that does have its twists and turns but in the final moments the game just resorts to a long sequence of dialog. This is extremely disappointing only due to the game playing with the player’s sanity as well as the main character’s. There was an opportunity to do something bigger with the ending and neither the good nor the bad ending (based on a choice in the final dialog sequence that’s easily accessed by continuing the game after completion) did anything spectacular. It’s a fine ending, just not a great one.
I will note here that any achievement hunters may want to wait, as not once did an achievement pop for me. The achievements are fairly easy to accomplish but the fact that I don’t have a single one from this and that the game is out (and not in pre-release) means this may be a bug. I don’t know, but since I know some people are extremely into this I felt it worth noting.
At the end of the day The Long Reach is worth the short time it takes to play, I’m just not sure at full price. Had the ending really stuck the landing on everything the gameplay was delivering I’d say it’s a must, but unfortunately the story is just alright. On sale I think any adventure fan will find enjoyment in The Long Reach.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
