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As noted earlier, Primal isn't a solo adventure in the traditional sense. Jen isn't alone in her quest and is joined by her demonic companion Scree, a gargoyle who has several abilities and such as turning himself to stone that he can use to help her progress through the worlds. Scree can also climb up stone walls and reach areas that Jen can't. Usually, he can then open a door and allow Jen to walk through it. Another of Scree's important tasks is to collect the all-important Ferai energy she needs for her transformations. This energy is locked inside the Ferai stones, which Scree picks up and then meld with his body. Scree can also suck Ferai power away from fallen foes. Once Scree has collected enough energy, he can transfer it to Jen. However, at certain points, he can transform himself into another form using the statues in each level. To add to the strategy, you can switch between these characters as the events in the game progress. Jen and Scree have different abilities that compliment each other and you'll have to work together in order to succeed. Jen is obviously more effective in combat situations, but Scree can become quite powerful as well when he transforms into his other forms. Switching between these characters creates an interesting play mechanic that makes Primal stand out from other adventure titles on the market.
Mastering the combat system is quite important, but succeeding in Primal means you'll also have to use your brains as well as your brawn. Players will also find numerous elaborate puzzles that they'll have to solve. Some of these are self-explanatory while others will take some brainpower to complete. Fortunately, the game allows you to consult Scree whenever you want by pressing the triangle button. His advice is quite useful and the clues he gives you should help you you're your way. This is where the two-character system Primal uses really shines. You'll frequently have to use both of these characters In order to unlock all of the game's secrets and puzzles. For example, at one point in the game, you are locked outside a temple with a locked door. In order to unlock the temple doors, you have to switch from Jen to Scree and have him collect all the Ferai stones. Then you have to make Scree change into another form to move a statue that opens the door. Other puzzles are more physical. You may need to switch to Jen to jump across a bridge, hit a switch and unlock gates that will allow Scree to pass through. These two puzzles are relatively simple tasks, but later on, you may have to switch characters multiple times in order to pass a certain area. The puzzles themselves aren't impossible to figure out, though some can be difficult, but the change of pace they provide helps Primal's gameplay achieve a satisfying balance between action and strategy. While gameplay is the primary focus, Primal isn't a mindless hack and slash experience. In fact, the rich backstory is quite well written with surprisingly impressive character development. There are several themes, such as loss and love, that are weaved effectively into the storyline and give the player a strong rooting interest. While the game starts off slow with an excessive amount of exposition, the plot picks up speed gradually as Jen moves deeper into the quest. The first part of the game explores the background of the characters and shows Jen progressing from confused to confident as she becomes more comfortable with her powers. This story is pretty interesting and the developers have done an excellent job of integrating these plot points into the larger structure of the game. When you play some other titles, the plot feels tacked onto something that's almost completely irrelevant, but in Primal, everything feels natural. This is helped by the writing that shines because the dialogue sounds natural and convincing.
While this is a solid game, there are some
nagging issues that prevent it from reaching its full potential. While the
combat sequences are intense, the enemies themselves become somewhat predictable
after awhile because they tend to use the same attack patterns repeatedly. The
other major problem we had with Primal was the fact that it can sometimes be
difficult to see where you are thanks to the camera system. While you can
mitigate this to some degree, adjusting these camera movements on the fly isn't
always the best solution, especially in the heat of battle. That said, there's
more positive than negative in the game. This is a robustly designed title with
evocative environments, challenging play and decent, though imperfect controls.
Primal offers a good balance of puzzle solving and combat, and the game unfolds
at a good pace that should keep your interest level high throughout. While it
resembles Devil May Cry and Soul Reaver in some aspects, Primal's dual-character
play system is unique and keeps the gameplay fresh and challenging throughout.
The game's cinematic feel is evident with outstanding visuals that create a
believable alternate universe to explore. Primal's high production values are
evident with excellent voice acting and entertaining writing that brings the
characters to life. Despite some minor blemishes, Primal is an outstanding
release that is highly recommended because it delivers a challenging and
engaging experience.
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Primal
takes place in a parallel world called Oblivion where demons and monsters rule a
realm of chaos and disorder. In this world, there are four realms where the
forces of good and evil wage an eternal struggle against each other. However,
the dark lord has begun to take over, wreaking havoc on the balance that keeps
the worlds together. As the game begins, we meet Jen Tate, a modern girl who's
been born half-demon, half-human. She's in the hospital after being attacked by
a group of thugs outside a nightclub. Jen is in bad shape but Scree releases her
spirit form and takes her to his world, where her previously concealed Ferai
powers are needed to restore order. Here, she can switch between these modes at
will. She has to face the many denizens of this world, restore the order and
balance that has been cast awry, while also rescuing her boyfriend who has been
sent to this other realm for mysterious reasons. Along the way, you and Scree
will meet many characters. Some of them are on the good side of the balance and
help her with the adventure. However, the majority of the characters are demonic
in nature and will stop at nothing to prevent her from restoring order. These
enemies are frightening and powerful but she isn't completely defenseless. She's
a powerful woman and can attack enemies using a variety of attacks including
slashing, slicing and cutting maneuvers. While she's quite an effective fighter
in human form, she's much more powerful when she's in her demon form, with gives
her much more devastating attacks and moves. Throughout the game, she takes on
one of four forms, which coincide with the four different demon realms. There
are four demonic realms including some vibrant underwater sequences. Changing to
her Ferai form is easy and this unlocks a short animation you can watch her body
transform into the Ferai, Wraith, Djinn and Undine states. These transformations
are accompanied by cool animations that are quite dramatic. However, when she
loses her Ferai energy, she will revert to human form. Luckily, there's a lot of
this scattered throughout the worlds.
Primal's
controls are quite intuitive and allow you to switch between forms and
characters quite easily. Both characters move around the massive environments
easily and players can manually adjust the camera to change their viewpoint.
Primal's battle system is relatively straightforward, though a little bit more
complicated than it needs to be. You attack by first pressing the L or R shift
keys, then hitting your attack button. This requires you to perform two steps
where one was needed. This makes fighting a tad less intuitive, but isn't a bad
system overall. To help you along in the hear of battle, Primal features an
effective auto-targeting system that allows you to lock onto enemies. The
Lock-on allows you to focus your attacks directly to the closest enemy and hit
them effectively. Hitting your enemy once is good, but hitting them with a
succession of attacks is better. The combo system here is smartly designed
because these attacks flow naturally and seamlessly together. Not only do these
combos let you finish off your opponents faster, they also unleash additional
powers. In order to perform a combo, all you need to do is hold down both shift
buttons simultaneously and these special moves are enabled. Once an enemy has
been sent reeling by your attacks and lies vulnerable, Jen can perform finishing
moves on opponents. This is important because they can prevent them from coming
back to life unexpectedly. Primal's combat system is easy to understand because
the game gradually introduces these abilites to the player. The system is
surprisingly flexible with many moves at your disposal that gives the battles
some texture and strategic depth. Even though Primal's controls seem clunky at
first, with practice become more intuitive and make for some viscerally exciting
gameplay that flows smoothly.
Primal
is a dark and sensuous game that definitely has a gothic yet surprisingly
realistic feel. The environments are incredibly detailed with excellent texture
mapping and high polygon counts throughout. The engine moves very smoothly
throughout and features brilliant light-sourcing for special attacks, which adds
to the eerie feel. The look is enhanced by numerous weather and lighting effects
including snow and fire that create a cohesive and believable world. The level
designs themselves are quite large and the game rarely pauses to load. Primal
implements an effective third-person perspective that allows you to see the
action immediately surrounding Jen. While some areas can be a bit confusing at
first, you can move the camera to look around and get a better sense of where
you are. Obviously, the design of its menacing foes is quite important. These
creature designs are quite impressive with a good diversity in their physical
appearance. Boss characters are especially malicious and they moving around with
demonic glee. As noted earlier Primal's voice acting is impressive thanks to the
writing, which fleshes out the characters nicely. From an audio standpoint, the
screams and screeches of the enemies are well done. The score is quite effective
and alternates between near silence, to atmospheric sound waves. Primal's many
battle sequences are accompanied by metallic riffs provided by 16 Volt. The
music is quite effective in adding to Primal's tension and drama.