Low Story | PS5 Review

Nothing makes you want to kick arse and take names like being drop kicked out of the top of a high rise apartment building by your creator. At least that's what sent this gun slinging Sackboy on a revenge rampage. After kissing the pavement and eating glass the stuffed protagonist grabs a conveniently placed gangster mask and a fedora then promptly heads out on a quest of vengeance sporting the new duds. 

For whom or what this revenge plot is directed is not made exactly clear. All that is clear is the walking platforming sim that follows is filled with combat situations where bullets are the only answer. Packing heat in three varieties our patchworked protagonist without a name deals death in spades. To demons, challenger samurai, and a giant one eyed cave dwelling anomaly. The scene transforming from a barely lit dystopian cityscape to an otherworldly dimension located just beyond a red door. Reminds me of a song ...

Seeking revenge as the sentient Sackboy isn't too difficult of a task, if I were to be honest. You simply follow the correct path through platforming segments as you shoot demonic creatures of varying types that drop in from time to time. 

You start off serving revenge with a multi-directional pistol with infinite bullets while managing a red ring of health. Building upon your arsenal as you go through collecting Uzi, and Homing Missile power-ups dropped by downed enemies. Also collecting, along the way, black stone currency and red stones that can be sold/traded for various refills, weapons, or skill enhancements at the vendor stops/outlets. 

Beyond the means for dispatching demons and end stage bosses lies a skill tree that requires collected skill points to upgrade gun damage, bullet effectiveness, and health stock. Leaving the special clothing items gained through optional challenges against a samurai at a sword marked challenger's stone to give you bonus performance perks to boost things like the evasive roll, and jumping capabilities. You'll also have the choice to take on the occasionally appearing cave anomaly for a hefty black stone payout by the resident vendor. The vendor doubles as a wares salesman and a source of lore info regarding things like keys, the cave, and other important aspects of gameplay. That's the gist of it.

The Gameplay ...

Low Story, as a game, throws a lot of mechanics at you that seemingly work together, but incoherently so. It's a mish mash of metroidvania features and interconnected asset flips that sometimes feel unnecessary. Like something created in "dreams". At most the challenges at hand, be it the challenger samurai, the cave dwelling anomaly, or the bosses are a matter of simply whittling away at health with bullets or missiles while maintaining some health via evasive maneuvers. Getting to them being the truly challenging part as there are mobs, and easy to die of pitfalls and hazards. The only thing staving off death before the boss encounter being your arsenal of guns, your special item bonuses, and skills that run on mana. The latter being a resource obtained from refill power-ups.

The gameplay loop in 'Low Story' is simple, and straightforward. Travel along the beaten path, face off against mobs, do little mini-games to advance past certain roadblocks, and kill a boss. Rinse and repeat. Collecting along the way the skill points, black stone currencies, and special items needed to help you withstand the barrage of attacks constantly heading in your direction. 

While it does hint at a deeper story, and has some world building through vendor lore none of what you are doing really makes a whole lot of sense in 'Low Story'. The transitioning from cityscapes to otherworldly realms only adds more questions than answers. Even the enemies you face are enigmatic in their own right. All that seems to be driving the protagonist is a thirst for revenge leading you to help him gun down everything in sight. For being thrown out the window, no less.

The Presentation ...

Visually it really does seem like a dark Sackboy adventure conjured up through the "dreams" platform. There's an obvious usage of stock assets, and a lot of repeated features that make this "Low Story" seem low effort for an Unreal Engine PS5 release. As new-gen as the textures may be the animations, special effects, and basic platforming hints at a more amateur project. 

Even the gameplay shows a lack of polish with a floaty nature, and slow responsiveness that is often times flawed in the combat scenarios due to the direction the protagonist is or isn't facing. Leading to things like shooting backwards while facing forwards or doing something similar with the evasive roll. It definitely has a lack of overall polish in that regard.

The Verdict ...

This dark Sackboy adventure is one that is truly low effort when it comes to the story. It lacks proper storytelling, isn't polished in the way of presentation or mechanics, and leaves you with a lot more questions than answers. While there exists content that does spark curiosity it leads almost nowhere for the duration of a full playthrough. Only offering basic combat, and basic platforming tied behind four increasingly difficult difficulty settings. All among a world that is as drunken in design as the enraged protagonist. 

I'm personally not too keen on recommending this title as it truly does feel like either an asset flip or something made through the 'dreams' platform. My hope, if anything, is that Dolores Entertainment does not go this route again with game development, and chooses to fully flesh out their future characters and worlds in a way that does them justice. They have the originality, and creativity, but lack proper execution from a developer standpoint.