Remothered: Tormented Fathers Review (NSW)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Remothered: Tormented Fathers
Developer: Stormind Games
Publisher: Darril Arts
Genre: Action, Adventure
Price: $29.99
Also Available On: Steam, PS4, XB1

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Italian videogame artist Chris Darril wore many hats in bringing Remothered: Tormented Fathers to fruition, and his labor of love paid dividends by way of critical and commercial success following its release on the personal computer (via Steam) in early January 2018. In creating, writing, and directing Stormind Games' entry to the survival horror genre, he set out to pay homage to Clock Tower, industry veteran Hifumi Kono's highly acclaimed classic adventure series. And, for the most part, he managed to do so with aplomb. Positive reviews, even from his peers, became the norm, leading to the eventual release of ports on the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4.

Not coincidentally, Stormind Games likewise ventured to put out a Nintendo Switch version of Remothered: Tormented Fathers. Collaborating with Tokyo-based publisher DICO, it managed to find its creation on the Japanese eShop in the middle of last year, well before its scheduled release for the hybrid console's North American, European, and Australian markets. The availability was sudden and met with little fanfare, but those who looked forward to it wasted no time purchasing it at its affordable Y2,400 price point.

As things turned out, there was ample reason for the delay in the release of Remothered: Tormented Fathers beyond the Land of the Rising Sun. For all the enthusiasm that greeted its arrival on digital retail, it proved far from ready. Suffering from optimization problems, it was quickly pulled from the Japanese eShop and subjected to technical fine-tuning in order to, per Stormind Games itself, "meet the developer's award-winning pedigree … We are committed to providing an immersive and gripping experience for the player. The extra time for the project will help us reach that goal."

Significantly, Remothered: Tormented Fathers would have another false start, so to speak. Stormind Games moved the official release date yet anew to early September, although only after it issued a patch close to two months after did it feel like the product was truly ready for public consumption. And, in retrospect, it was right to think the way it did. Not for nothing are there essentially two sets of reviews of and for it: one before the patch was available for download, and one after the application of said patch addressed programming missteps.

The storied past notwithstanding, Remothered: Tormented Fathers – or, to be more precise, its latest iteration – cannot but be deemed worthy of gamers' time. It certainly sets up its much-improved gameplay well with a story designed to get gray cells working overtime. Even the title prompts introspection; the official website discloses it to be an amalgamation of "REM" (for rapid eye movement), "moth," "mother," "other," and "red" in obvious reference to its survival horror predilections. And the narrative, which starts with 35-year-old Rosemary Reed visiting the home of Dr. Richard Felton under false pretenses in order to investigate the disappearance of Celeste, the latter's daughter, is chockful of twists and turns reminiscent of Silent Hill offerings.

Darril has envivioned Remothered to be a trilogy, so it's no shock to find Tormented Fathers replete with unanswered questions. That said, the manner in which the story develops, and the puzzles gamers have to solve en route to unfolding it, figures to keep them engrossed from the get-go. Unfortunately, it remains technically challenged on the Switch, unable to keep steady frame rates and susceptible to stuttering. It's passable at best whether played with the console docked or in handheld mode, suffering from soft tones and occasional artifacting, as well as from input lags.

The good news is that Remothered: Tormented Fathers rewards patient gamers with a satisfying denouement, the inevitable sequel notwithstanding. Make no mistake; it's a challenge to negotiate on the Switch – and the excellent rendition of cutscenes serve only to underscore the wanting visuals. Parenthetically, the audio mix is lacking at best; spatial feedback and aural fidelity and balance are poor to nonexistent. No doubt, hardware limitations contribute to the hurdles Stormind Games had to go through in porting it. That said, it winds up riding too much on its haunting atmosphere to deliver a gripping narrative worthy of the time of even jaded gamers.

All things considered, Remothered: Tormented Fathers can fairly be adjudged a good release that had the potential to be much, much better. For fans of the genre, the hope is that Stormind Games learns from its missteps and delivers on a superior sequel. Meanwhile, those not able to play on any platform but the Switch are left to look at the bright side and consider it positively in its entirety. The rest may want to look elsewhere.

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THE GOOD

• Compelling story
• Enveloping atmosphere
• Fairly challenging puzzles

THE BAD

• Optimization issues abound
• Graphical compromises evident from the get-go
• Poor spatial feedback and aural fidelity

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RATING: 7/10

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