#lander 23

It's fun. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a great time playing hide & seek in that lushly detailed space.

But if it wasn't Punchdrunk, and it wasn't there, would I care anything about it?

Not really. It's pricey for what it is, the game mechanics are basic, and there's no story to speak of. It's got adrenaline, but not emotion.

We are officially out of previews, and it still feels rough around the edges. Or, really, it feels uneven: some bits are lovely and polished, and some bits seem to have been slapped together.

And I was really hoping they would give us a story. That's what sets PD apart.

And where there may be hints of something under the surface, there's no opportunity to dig deeper. At TBC, I always felt that I would be rewarded for paying attention, for doing research, for learning more about the world. I always felt assured that there was more to find, more connections to draw, more to learn, even if I didn't yet understand it. Now, when the set is literally pulled from another story to use in this one, I feel no such confidence that anything is intentional or worth delving into.