Broken Pieces
- September 8, 2022
- Elseware Experience
Broken Pieces is a psychological thriller taking place in a french coastal village somehow outside the flow of time. Solve the mysteries by putting the pieces of the story back together by figuring out the enigma behind this mystical place.
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The storyline is engrossing and intriguing, with a rich backstory and well-developed characters.
- The graphics are stunning, showcasing detailed environments and a beautiful coastal setting.
- The puzzles are interesting and rewarding, providing a satisfying challenge for players.
- The combat system is clunky and frustrating, often feeling unnecessary and poorly executed.
- The camera angles can be jarring and disorienting, making navigation difficult at times.
- The ending feels rushed and leaves many plot points unresolved, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction.
- story85 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally engaging and intriguing, with a unique narrative structure that unfolds through collected tapes and environmental clues, enhancing the mystery. However, many players found the plot confusing and felt that the ending was anticlimactic, leaving some storylines unresolved. Despite its flaws, the atmosphere and character development received praise, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy puzzle-driven narratives.
“The story is engaging as you play the character Elise.”
“I highly recommend this game for the story, setting, mystery, Elise, and the beautifully detailed world of Saint-Exil.”
“The game has a unique way of storytelling which I liked; it drops you in the middle of nowhere without telling you why you are here or what happened, but slowly reveals pieces of the story by finding hints and clues during your gameplay, which adds to the mystery of the game.”
“The game overwhelms you with 4 different plot lines that seem impossible to fit into a coherent story.”
“The story also feels directionless, like the developers didn't really know what to do with it.”
“The conclusion to this whole story is underwhelming, I have to say, and the developers are seemingly busy with thinking of a follow-up already, but there’s enough interesting stuff here already to be fun.”
- gameplay28 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily focused on puzzles and exploration, with a strong emphasis on lore gathering and environmental storytelling, reminiscent of classic adventure games. While the mechanics are generally solid, players may find combat frustrating, especially if they opt for a reduced combat mode to prioritize puzzles and narrative. The inclusion of a day/night cycle and weather mechanics adds depth, but some players feel that the crafting and survival elements are unnecessary, leading to a mixed reception regarding overall gameplay satisfaction.
“As for the gameplay, the best aspect would definitely be the puzzles and lore gathering.”
“The mechanical puzzles are a nice challenge.”
“The gameplay was satisfying and the puzzles were not overly difficult but felt rewarding to complete.”
“However, there is an option to 'reduce combat' so that you can focus on puzzles and narrative; I recommend taking this option as you'll probably just be frustrated with the combat mechanics.”
“The tacked-on crafting and survival mechanics are pointless and shouldn't be in the game at all.”
“Gameplay is repetitive; I felt like the character was training for a marathon.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 85 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received widespread praise for their beauty and detail, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning visuals that enhance the immersive experience. The use of different camera angles, including a new over-the-shoulder option, further elevates the appreciation of the game's artistic design. While the environments are richly crafted and atmospheric, some players noted a lack of variety in certain elements, such as doors and gates, which could benefit from a map for easier navigation.
“The (Unreal Engine) visuals are absolutely splendid - the game reeks of the refined, sedate decay of a beautiful little fishing village whose prime has long past, yet still retains a vibrant (though now, suddenly missing) community.”
“If you enjoy a puzzle game with a mysterious back story and hauntingly beautiful graphics, this is the game for you.”
“The graphics are gorgeous and the atmosphere is great!”
- music15 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received high praise for its exceptional quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with players particularly enjoying the immersive experience of listening to cassettes while exploring. The soundtrack complements the gorgeous visuals and sound design, making it a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's charm and emotional depth. Overall, the music is considered a major highlight, adding to the enjoyment of the gameplay and storytelling.
“Gorgeous visuals that really make the locals feel alive, with traditional fixed PS1/2 style camera angles, each line is fully voice acted and the world is brought to life through an excellent selection of sound and music.”
“The music, especially the cassettes you can listen to whenever you want, are wonderful and honestly the most fun parts of the game are when you're exploring the streets with one of these playing and just soaking up the atmosphere.”
“I thought the music was phenomenal!”
“The music, especially the cassettes you can listen to whenever you want to, are wonderful and honestly the most fun parts of the game are when you're exploring the streets with one of these playing and just soaking up the atmosphere.”
“Sound is also exceptional; the tapes you listen to are all trippy musically, or fitting when other unique (but unmet) characters are introduced.”
“Finding tapes and playing the music you like was a neat angle.”
- atmosphere15 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive sense of place, effectively capturing the essence of a fictional 1991 coastal French village through its sound design, music, and visual aesthetics. Players appreciate the nostalgic and lonely ambiance created by audio diaries and a melancholic soundtrack, which enhance exploration and engagement with the environment. Despite some criticisms regarding combat and narrative pacing, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
“The best things this game has going for it are its incredible atmosphere, sound design, and OST.”
“The music, especially the cassettes you can listen to whenever you want, are wonderful, and honestly the most fun parts of the game are when you're exploring the streets with one of these playing and just soaking up the atmosphere.”
“Fantastic adventure game with great atmosphere, good puzzles, gorgeous visual design, and a mysterious story.”
“The combat is awkward (a common problem for indie fixed camera games!) and the narrative ends somewhat abruptly (maybe broken pieces would be a better name?), but elsewhere experiences fixed multicam survival-horror-lite is absolutely worth playing for its sense of place and time (1991, a fictional remote coastal French village!) and the lonely, wistful atmosphere conjured by audio diaries and sad Gallic rock…!”
“The music, especially the cassettes you can listen to whenever you want to, are wonderful and honestly the most fun parts of the game are when you're exploring the streets with one of these playing and just soaking up the atmosphere.”
“The sound effects and music fit the atmosphere of the game.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with excessive backtracking and combat that feels unnecessary and poorly integrated. While the game boasts impressive visuals and an intriguing story, the repetitive nature of item collection and encounters detracts from the overall experience. Many recommend opting for modes that minimize combat to alleviate the frustration.
“The environments are large, and while you unlock shortcuts through the village, a lot of the time the game will have you going back and forth between points to get items or find locations, and it is pretty tedious.”
“Overall, Broken Pieces is a great looking and sounding game marred by fairly needless combat that feels bolted in to hook more players, along with some tedious backtracking-esque exploration.”
“Intriguing story, but tedious gameplay.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has received criticism for its lack of stability, with users reporting numerous glitches and bugs that significantly impact gameplay, including crashes and clunky mechanics. Many players feel that the game was not adequately tested before release, leading to a frustrating experience.
“Interesting storyline and very good graphics, but the game was not fully checked for errors, problems, and glitches before being released.”
“Weird, clunky, annoying - I would even say buggy (the game crashed two times while my storage box was open).”
“The game has many glitches that are proving very irritating.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game effectively balances the emotional weight of the narrative, featuring clever puns and light-hearted moments that enhance the protagonist's experience. Set in France, the setting adds an unexpected layer of amusement, while the character's journey manages to maintain a harmonious blend of seriousness and levity without becoming overwhelming.
“Puns and humor are there to balance and protect her sanity from the toll the events have taken on her.”
“The story takes place in France, and that surprised me and made me laugh a little.”
“She had big shoes to fill being the only living, present character in the story, and the shift from serious emotions to bits of humor never got on my nerves.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally positive, with users reporting good visuals and solid performance, particularly with high-end hardware like the 3090, achieving around 150fps at 1440p. However, some players noted that it could be considered slightly unoptimized.
“The visuals are really good, and performance-wise, I didn't have any issues. I turned on DLSS and was getting at least 150 FPS in most cases with a 3090 at 1440p resolution.”
“The game runs smoothly, and I appreciate the optimization efforts that allow for high frame rates even on demanding settings.”
“Despite some minor optimization issues, the overall performance is satisfactory and enjoyable.”
“The game feels a bit unoptimized, but it's manageable.”
“Performance issues make the experience frustrating at times.”
“There are significant frame rate drops that hinder gameplay.”
