4.5/5 ★ – pinksteady's review of Rime.

Rime was included as a free PS+ game of the month a while back and so having recently finished the massive undertaking that was Nier: Automata, it felt like a good game to play as a relaxing break. I had read some reviews and the general impression I had was that it was an average but lacking adventure game, but I liked the look of it so gave it a go. On the face of it, Rime is a very beautiful but quite simple adventure puzzle game. You awake as a young boy washed up a sandy beach. The island contains a number of architecturally-themed puzzles, involving moving blocks around or activating various totems by reaching them and shouting at them. Occasionally a cute little red fox appears to guide you in the right direction. There is no particular goal implied or stated. You aren’t trying to repair your boat, or do anything specific at all, which does make the progression feel a little aimless at times. There is a huge tower which acts as a notional goal for the first half of the game, but even that passes once you are inside (other than perhaps “reach the top”). Your progress through the game is accompanied by the most wonderful musical score (https://song.link/album/gb/i/1236238983); the quality of which seems almost out of place against the game! That’s a bit harsh I suppose, but I was really absorbed by the music and it was a great companion to the gameplay. During the game, I found the various things I encountered interesting yet somewhat hard to place - I wasn't getting a sense of an overall structure or story. However nearer theater stages of the game, I started to get the feeling that all was not what it seemed - specifically I started to suspect this was probably some metaphor for someone dying or I was playing a dream or something. When the end scenes rolled, my suspicions were confirmed. In fact the entire game represents the grieving process of a father who has lost his son. Once you learn this, all the various elements of the game you just played make sense. It was a very powerful moment and had me in tears. Each of the chapters in the game are named, as our find out once you finish the game, after the various stages of the grieving process, such as Denial, Anger, Depression, Acxeptance etc, and the style of level, challenges and friends and foes encountered are all tailored within each chapter to convey this specific message. In addition, the big set pieces of each chapter turn out to each be toys from the dead son's room, which you explore at the end. Again, another way of giving new and heightened meaning and appreciation to the game you just played. So while I played the game, I felt I was playing a pleasant yet unremarkable indie game, but once I had absorbed it's message and understood its meaning I instantly fell for the game even further and consider it to be an excellent adventure.