Reviewy Part

 If ever there was a game that middled in just about every aspect of its gaming graduation it'd be Enslaved. Everyone kinda knew about it. Everyone kinda played it. Everyone kinda liked it. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on it already; it made many people's end of year lists, mine included. The trouble was it didn't quite do enough to blow people away. 
 
The thing that grabs people most about Enslaved is it's story. Based on the Journey to the West narrative, the game does a good job of not falling into the trap of spending most of its time going "Hey, you see that...that's from Journey to the West right? But modern! Clever, eh?". Naturally, it chucks in a few things like Monkey's cloud and Pigsy to keep you aware of where its roots lie, but it's never particularly in your face, and doesn't depend upon anyone's prior knowledge of the original story in order to flesh out its own narrative. The most curious thing about Enslaved, however, is that I came away admiring it for not the actual story, but the way in which it is told. The story is pure backdrop for Ninja Theory to intricately profile the main characters of Trip and Monkey. They themselves are perhaps not deep, complicated people, but the way they interact is where the game hits gold. These two feel like believable figures. Not necessarily people you'd meet out on the street, but figures you can really imagine this world to produce; a post-apocalyptic environment where technology reigns supreme, and survival means creating a bridge-based puzzle outside your village. 
 
It's these characters and the interactions between the two that really show how prehistoric and at times plain dopey other games are with their stories. There's no maniacal force sat in a backlit tower atop a thunder-stricken mountain, cackling as he magically watches the two from afar. At the heart of it, Enslaved is about the rawness of a world starting again, and the simple emotions that match it; the need for survival and, later on, the need for retribution. With this in mind, it's often easy to remember Enslaved as a story rather than a game; whether that's to it's credit or not is another debate. But, gameplay did indeed exist and it was...OK, I guess.   

You start of with the basic heavy and light attacks, and eventually upgrade and gain new skills, but it never strays too far from this well practised formula.  To its credit, the combat actually had a 'meaty' sense to it; you really felt that it took a lot to take these metal monstrosities down, and you never became so powerful that they just ended up exploding after a light touch. The boss battles were equally standard fair, ranging from 'hit this guy a few times then do a take-down move', to 'dodge this guys attacks so he rams into something'. Again, nothing special, but you got a good sense of scale and almost fear. Often in games you'll have a long, drawn out, five minute cut scene showing a towering boss rise from the ground in front of you. Your character will give a bit of a shocked glance, before turning stoic and inexplicably 'getting on with the job'. Here though, the characters will often talk about how freaking scared they are dealing with a twenty foot monster. Which again, adds a welcome sense of 'realism'.