Folklore

After the mediocre Genji: Days of the Blade, Japanese developer Game Republic tries again with their second PlayStation 3 title, Folklore. And while they still struggle with many issues in gameplay and presentation, the end result remains enjoyable for anyone interested in an engaging action-adventure with a story deep enough to question the very meaning of death.

The game follows the young Ellen and journalist Keats who are both lured into the mysterious village of Doolin, said to be a bridge between the world of the living and the dead. As you explore various fantastically beautiful realms as both Ellen and Keats, the two not only unravel a series of murders lying 17 years in the past but also see themselves in the middle of a war between the beings of the netherworld. While the story is incredibly engaging, the same can not always be said about the game's art of story-telling however. Dialogs are usually presented in a comic-style fashion of still photos of the 3D environments and characters, but often lack convincing expressiveness and are rather sterile and lifeless. On contrast, the rarely occurring cutscenes are a breath of fresh air and the voice acting is mostly solid.

The meat of the game is the combat however. As you walk around in the many different realms of the netherworld, you'll encounter about a dozen different folks per realm, each with specific strengths and weaknesses. Since weapons are of little use in the lands of the dead, the two protagonists soon learn to absorb the souls of their enemies and use their abilities against their former comrades. This allows for a ton of variation on how the game can be played, although you'll probably stick with a few key attacks for the most part. Some folks and particularly each realm's end boss, the so called folklores, will require specific combinations of attacks however and since given hints in form of collectible scratches don't always help to figure out which strategy works, you'll often find yourself shuffling through the list of collected folks. Luckily, the list is well organized and accessible, although brief pauses after each switch can get annoying after a while.

Sucking out a folks ID is done entirely with the Sixaxis's tilty-control and not only works surprisingly well but is also a great deal of fun, especially after a hard battle against an especially tough opponent. A quick yank with the controller is enough for most folks, some however hang onto their life quite a bit and need a little convincing in form of a short minigame before giving up. These range from timing-based thrusts and wild shaking to banging the IDs to the ground repeatedly or balancing them for a period of time. It's not only a nice change of pacing, but also bears a strategic element, as you may opt to wait until you can absorb multiple folks for an experience bonus. Besides gathering experience in order to lengthen your life bar, the RPG elements are on the light side however and in terms of character customization, the game can't be compared to a full-fledged RPG.

Since Keats and Ellen will stride through the same environments for the most part, the game can get a bit repetitive after a while, but Folklore tries to mix it up in many small but noticeable ways. Some of the folks change depending on the character played and while Keats is more of a brawler and can transform himself for a short time for higher damage, Ellen's attacks are often less risky as you don't have to get too close, but require a bit more preparation time. Still, at times the game tends to drag on a bit, but the outcome of your adventure manages to make up for it.

If you stick to the main plot, you can expect the game to take you around 15-20 hours, but of course the game encourages you to collect and level up each and every single one of your pokemans by following a number of side quests for special items and other goodies. There's also an online mode complete with a simple to use but rather restrictive level editor allowing you to create and share your own monster-filled dungeons and play others' creations for leader board points. This component is rather underdeveloped though and lacks a bunch of options one would expect the game to have. As it stands, multiplayer should not be your main incentive to play the game, especially when there is such an engaging singleplayer component to it.

Folklore is, for the most part, a great-looking game thanks to the imaginative and diverse environments and fantastic monster designs, as well as the often impressive texture quality. The enchanting art style is reminicent of what an Alice in Wonderland movie would be like, if Tim Burton was on the helm. Some aspects however, like some of the side-characters and areas don't look quite as good as the rest of the game and drag the overall impression down. Same can be said for the rather confined levels which not only make navigation in narrow spaces in a pack of monsters a challenge but also often forces the camera into confusing positions. Equally inconsistent is the audio, specifically the music. While later levels feature some marvelous pieces of engaging music, the early realms' tunes are so short and loop over and over that you'll find yourself annoyed very quickly. As mentioned, the voice acting is solid for the most part, although some of the characters' voices and lines are rather forgettable.

At the end of the day, Folklore is a game of mixed feelings. You'll find yourself often amazed by the game's beautiful environments and deep storyline, but at the same time, you'll be irritated by minor but noticeable flaws that show in almost every aspect in the game. Luckily, the good parts manage to overshadow most of these issues and you'll most definitely have a good time if you enjoy this type of game.