Review: Get Even

Title: Get Even
Platform: PC, PS4 (reviewed) and Xbox One
Developer: The Farm 51
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release date: Out now
Tl; Dr: Prepare yourselves for hours of Inception-like mind-messing. It’ll be worth it.
Price: £30
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

What is Get Even?

It’s a game that sits rather uniquely amongst other games. It’s a puzzler. It’s a first-person shooter. It’s a horror. It’s a psychological thriller. It’s a drama.

It’s all of these and perhaps none of these.

That doesn’t tell you much, does it? But hey, that’s Get Even. One moment you’re investigating clues, the next you’re trying your best not to rain bullet hell on enemies that would dearly love to provide strong doses of lead-based injection. Lucky for you that you’ll discover a gun that can shoot around corners, right?

Did I just talk about a CornerGun? Oops. You can have that one for free.

Going back to those important questions though; Who is the main character, Cole Black? Who are the people around you? You think you know, but really you don’t.

That’s Get Even.

The blurb on the box asks you only two simple questions. The first regards Cole Black –  “Why was he there?” and the second being his target, “Who was the girl?”

The girl in question was one that Cole was trying to rescue; a girl that had a bomb strapped to her chest? Why was the bomb there? Why was she there? Why was he there?

More questions. That’s Get Even.

The game answers these questions in the grimy semi-futuristic world that is… erm… countryside England, and then throws in some more questions for good measure.

This world is the set for a game that could certainly fool you into thinking that it’s an AAA game. It carries the publishing badge of Bandai Namco, but for all intents and purposes, you could see this as one extremely well-packaged indie game. Sure, it had its occasional moments where I got stuck when trying to sneak around the forest, but the quality of the artwork, story-writing and sound compositions will make you wonder what major studio put this all together.

The Farm 51, however, is a small team of no more than fifty people, supported by the “third writer,“ of the game, composer Olivier Deriviere. His work here gets special mention, as the sound design is nothing short of exceptional in this game.

Get Even features a procedurally game-driven soundtrack that uses the environment around the protagonist to generate music from sounds that would not otherwise be seen as instruments. The steam from a pipe? The ticking of a clock? Beeps from a computer? All notes in the orchestra that is Get Even’s world. As such, headphones are strongly recommended when diving into Get Even. The aural experience is an extremely noteworthy one and is certainly to be credited among Get Even’s positive points.

Great soundtrack? That’s Get Even.

You’ll play the game mostly through investigation and the occasional encounter with enemies. As you investigate, you find items that help to complete the picture of what actually happened. These items are scanned using the key item in your arsenal; your smartphone. It’s also used for solving all manners of puzzles, should you choose to do so.

Choice is something that the game reminds you of constantly. “There will be consequences,” the game says, as you continue to explore the world of Get Even. There are certainly many ways to cook an egg in Get Even, and not all of them have to involve a gun. The reminder of choice created the interesting feeling of instant regret when placed into a situation where I felt I had no choice but to follow a certain course of action. I was left asking myself “Was that okay? Was I meant to do that?”

But that’s, you guessed it: Get Even.

It’s an experience that I really enjoyed, tackling some themes that you might come to expect in a game like this, but others that surprised me a good bit. It really is a story that only begins to make sense right at the climactic end. You may think you have the gist of it midway through but trust me, this party hasn’t even begun at that stage.

Get Even is certainly a recommend from me. You’ll probably wonder what it is you’ve got yourself into when you get started, but trust me, the party is a wild one and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it.

Just remember to focus… and explore.

The Good

• One hell of an adventure that will have you asking questions all the way through.
• Cornergun is pretty rad, although you might want to minimise its use
• Use of sound and music is something else.

The Bad

• Occasionally caught myself stuck in landscape, which killed the vibe
• Despite the burly protagonist and cool gun, it’s not really an action game. Be aware of this if that’s what you’re after.
• Had to remember my tea…

Family Focus – Get Even

Get Even tackles a lot of mature themes. It is rated PEGI 16 in Europe and T for Teen in the US, and it would be a good shout to respect that rating. Those looking for a fun little run-and-gun game will surely be disappointed with this. But for those who can accept and dive into the mature themes the game provides then there is a lot to enjoy.

 

This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.