Skip to main content

A New Beginning: Final Cut

It's a great game, that's recommended to anyone with any interest in science fiction, eco-criticism, or environmental politics.
66%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
stability, grinding
64% User Score Based on 835 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

MOMac OSPCPCWinWindows

About

"A New Beginning - Final Cut" is a graphic novel-style adventure game where players control bioengineer Bent Svensson and time traveler Fay. They must travel the world to prevent an impending climate catastrophe, while ensuring that Bent's research doesn't fall into the wrong hands. The game features a thrilling story, hand-drawn illustrations, and voice acting.

A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
A New Beginning: Final Cut screenshot
+2

64%
Audience ScoreBased on 836 reviews
story322 positive mentions
stability39 negative mentions

  • Engaging storyline that tackles important environmental issues.
  • Beautiful hand-drawn graphics and comic book-style cutscenes.
  • Challenging puzzles that encourage logical thinking.
  • Poor voice acting that detracts from the overall experience.
  • Translation issues with some text appearing in other languages.
  • Some puzzles are overly cryptic or illogical, leading to frustration.
  • story
    886 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "A New Beginning" is a complex narrative centered around time travel and environmental themes, particularly climate change, which some players found engaging while others criticized it for being preachy and filled with clichés. Many reviews noted that the plot has intriguing twists and character development, but it suffers from inconsistencies, poor voice acting, and a heavy-handed delivery of its message. Overall, while the story has potential and can be captivating, it is marred by execution issues that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The story is very interesting, the graphics and the gameplay are cool.”
    • “The story is original, the overall theme interesting, and the locales well designed, especially the backgrounds.”
    • “The story is captivating and just the right mix of puzzles make this game a great adventure.”
    • “The story makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and so do aspects of progressing the game.”
    • “The story is uneven and riddled with plot holes and bizarre contrivances.”
    • “The story is pretty predictable and none of the characters are believable.”
  • graphics
    205 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many players praising the beautiful hand-drawn art style and comic-book-inspired visuals. While some noted that the animations could be choppy and the overall graphical fidelity may not match modern standards, the aesthetic appeal and vibrant artwork were highlighted as standout features that enhance the gaming experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing to the game's atmosphere and storytelling.

    • “It is indeed a beautifully illustrated game with a combination of beautiful gameplay visuals in conjunction with comic-book-style cutscenes.”
    • “The animations that are done in both the in-game and comic book scenes are looking smooth, making it feel as if I was watching a cartoon with its familiar artwork style.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, this is already a trademark for Daedalic.”
    • “Graphics and animations look cheaper than, for example, Deponia's graphics (which released with a difference of 1 year).”
    • “The graphics are not really my style (missing a bit more detail), but in the end, they worked well for the whole game.”
    • “The 2D graphics make it seem dated, and it's riddled with little bugs that cause it to hang from time to time.”
  • gameplay
    130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this point-and-click adventure is generally described as standard but plagued by numerous issues, including bugs, clunky mechanics, and frustrating controls that detract from the experience. While the visuals and story are praised, many players find the gameplay tedious and slow, with some puzzles being overly difficult or illogical. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable exploration and puzzle-solving, but its execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a mixed reception among players.

    • “It is indeed a beautifully illustrated game with a combination of beautiful gameplay visuals in conjunction with comic-book-style cutscenes.”
    • “The gameplay is solid, but all animations take too much time and simply turn out to be frustrating when you're forced to backtrack or simply can't find the essential piece that's missing.”
    • “An interesting climate change story, with time travel, dual characters, nice graphics, cool comic strip cut scenes and a nice take on point and click mechanics make for a fun game.”
    • “I really want to like this, but there are just so many small problems that affect nearly every moment of the gameplay experience.”
    • “The gameplay is mediocre at best; the game is painfully dull to play, the story isn't particularly well-told, and the game seems to be riddled with small bugs.”
    • “The gameplay is ridiculously messy and tedious (for example, why do we have to hold the mouse button for every single interaction, why?? and why are some elements in big puzzles so hard to click?), which is quite mind-boggling for a point & click game.”
  • music
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric and emotional qualities that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players find the soundtrack enjoyable and fitting for various scenes, others criticize it as forgettable or lacking in impact, particularly in terms of volume balance with dialogue. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, though technical issues and inconsistencies in sound control detract from the experience for some players.

    • “The soundtrack for the game fits the moods and tones of the game very well.”
    • “The music, art style, world, and story setting are great.”
    • “Everything complements each other well, and creates the ambience tied together with a great musical score.”
    • “Sound too quiet and not memorable, so you think you might as well play without music at all.”
    • “I tried turning the music down lower and lower when it kept blasting louder than the dialogue, but never did manage to hear a nice balance of audio.”
    • “The soundtrack is held back and sparse; there are sections with no ambience whatsoever, and some of the sound effects are, frankly, awful (the car engine sound, for example).”
  • humor
    43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as inconsistent, with some players finding it clever and engaging, particularly in character dialogues and absurd situations, while others feel it falls flat or is overshadowed by serious themes. Notably, the voice acting sometimes unintentionally adds to the humor, though many reviewers express disappointment that the game lacks the comedic depth found in classic point-and-click titles. Overall, while there are moments of wit and charm, the humor is often overshadowed by illogical puzzles and a serious narrative.

    • “The dialogues were interesting and especially when Bent Svensson was involved, full of humor.”
    • “The dry humor totally made the game for me!”
    • “It has a good story, engaging puzzles, likable characters, at times humorous dialogues and decent voice acting.”
  • stability
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of severe bugs, including character freezes, audio glitches, and inconsistent translations that switch between languages unexpectedly. Many players experienced frustrating gameplay interruptions, such as actions not registering and the user interface disappearing. While some found the game finishable despite these issues, the overall consensus is that the lack of polish and technical problems significantly detract from the experience.

    • “The game worked without any bugs or losses for me; save games loaded and saved as intended, and no glitches were found or other similar broken game parts that let you crash or get stuck.”
    • “Bug free.”
    • “The stability of the game is impressive, providing a smooth experience without any interruptions.”
    • “Horrible buggy experience; I lost 6 hours of gameplay because my character got stuck in front of the mirror in Act 7.”
    • “The result is an infuriatingly slow and unstable gaming environment, with crashes, freezes, and deadly bugs to be expected.”
    • “The game is extremely buggy and utterly clumsy at times.”
  • atmosphere
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its beautiful graphics, emotional music, and immersive storytelling, particularly in later chapters. However, others criticize it for being bland or depressing, with unlikable characters and stilted voice acting detracting from the overall experience. While the game successfully creates a captivating ambiance for some, it fails to engage others, leading to a polarized reception regarding its atmospheric qualities.

    • “The game is very atmospheric, has great graphics, music and sound effects, and the voice acting is top notch.”
    • “Beautifully drawn backgrounds and landscapes, well done comic-like cut-scenes, and a great voiceover accompanied with an atmospheric soundtrack make for a great gaming experience.”
    • “Looks amazing the whole way through and it has an amazing atmosphere.”
    • “The characters aren't really likable either; the overall atmosphere is bland.”
    • “For me, this is a rarity in games of this genre, because they are usually 'softer' in moral terms. The atmosphere of this game is quite depressing in general.”
    • “You really feel the depressive atmosphere the game takes place in.”
  • emotional
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with praise for its atmospheric music and touching story that resonates with players, fostering a sense of investment in the characters. However, criticism arises from poor voice acting and awkward dialogue that detracts from the emotional impact, often resulting in a disconnection between the narrative and the player's experience. Overall, while the game tackles significant themes like environmental issues, its execution leaves some players feeling frustrated and emotionally unfulfilled.

    • “The game's soundtrack fits its theme and purpose; the music is not demanding but adds to the emotional effect during various scenes.”
    • “I loved the subject matter, and the game made me feel a sense of loss when I finished playing it as I grew close to the characters.”
    • “Such a heartwarming story.”
    • “Very poor voice acting, boring story and locations, bland and uninteresting puzzles.”
    • “It's about global warming and environmental issues, which ended up being a more boring story than I expected.”
  • grinding
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many describing the gameplay and puzzles as slow, clunky, and unpolished. While there are no particularly hard achievements that require excessive grinding, the repetitive nature of interactions and poorly designed puzzles contribute to a sense of monotony. The dialogue also adds to the tedium, often feeling lengthy and unengaging, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “The gameplay and puzzles are tedious, and normally I'd stick it out if I liked the story, but that's not so great either with really stilted and off-putting dialogue.”
    • “This game is one big unpolished, tedious, clunky, glitchy, anticlimactic, and slow waste of an art.”
    • “The gameplay is ridiculously messy and tedious (for example, why do we have to hold the mouse button for every single interaction, why?? and why are some elements in big puzzles so hard to click?), which is quite mind-boggling for a point & click game.”
  • character development
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the growth of the protagonist, Fay, while criticizing the shallow and predictable arcs of other characters, particularly Bent. Many reviewers felt that the characters lacked depth and that the overall story failed to engage, leading to a perception of lazy writing and poorly executed development. The artistic style was noted as visually appealing, but it did not compensate for the shortcomings in character depth and narrative engagement.

    • “I did enjoy seeing that there was some character development throughout the story, even if the way they developed seemed pretty predictable.”
    • “Fay, the girl you play in the game, has the best plot story. Although I'm almost done with it (1 chapter left), I find her character development a great balance between what the plot indicates and the situational events occurring around her.”
    • “Bent's character development is intriguing; in the first half, he goes into denial, and in the second half, he goes through reasoning, although his development doesn't change significantly.”
    • “I wish they could have spent more time fixing this game and the story focused on more of the science instead of the bad character development.”
    • “Overall, I'd give the game a 4/10. The story seemed lazy with no real character development or explanation, the puzzles seemed bizarre and poorly executed, and I found myself hating both protagonists.”
    • “The characters themselves are also shallow, and even though in some reviews I've read about 'character development', that mostly means that they grow from one-dimensional to maybe two.”
  • replayability
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game has minimal to zero replayability, as it is linear with few meaningful choices that do not significantly alter the story. Players noted that once the game is completed, there is little incentive to replay it, especially given the high price point and poor voice acting. Overall, it received a low replayability rating, with many reviewers expressing disappointment in this aspect.

    • “And as for adventure games, its replayability depends on how good you are at forgetting, haha.”
    • “There is no replayability value; there might be some options that give you different responses, but they are not vital in understanding the full story.”
    • “Since the game is linear and there are no areas where choices are offered, a walkthrough pretty much means no replayability here.”
    • “The replayability is, in my honest opinion, practically zero.”
  • optimization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been criticized for its clunky and janky performance, leading to a stuttering experience that feels mismatched, akin to a poorly dubbed foreign film. While some players found humor in the ineptness of the voice acting, many noted that the overall execution detracted from immersion and enjoyment.

    • “The game even mentions the counterpoint that millions of people will die if humanity does not continue to enable electric grids in developing countries using current methods while pushing for greater efficiency and performance of renewables.”
    • “Despite this initial irritation, I started to enjoy the ineptness of the voice performances. Being a sucker for bad sci-fi movies, I got more out of the game once I viewed it in that light.”
    • “Overall, the performance is clunky and janky.”
    • “At the end of sentences, the next one starts almost instantly, leaving no room for a pause, making it a very stuttering and laggy experience.”
    • “The voice acting features some of the worst, most wooden performances I've ever heard.”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews do not specifically address monetization, focusing instead on voice-acting, story quality, and graphics. Therefore, no clear insights on monetization practices or their impact on the game experience are provided.

Buy A New Beginning: Final Cut

10h Median play time
9h Average play time
6-11h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Games Like A New Beginning: Final Cut

The Whispered World Image
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav Image
Black Mirror Image
This game contains adult content
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today Image
This game contains adult content
Deponia Image
Deponia: The Complete Journey Image
This game contains adult content
The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day Image
Syberia 3 Image
Truberbrook / Trüberbrook Image
Runaway, A Road Adventure ImageRunaway, A Road Adventure ImageRunaway, A Road Adventure Image