RiME (2017)

This title is a visually striking puzzle-adventure that leans heavily on atmosphere and emotion rather than complex gameplay. Its art direction, with sunlit ruins and painterly vistas, feels reminiscent of Journey or Ico, and the orchestral soundtrack often elevates its most poignant moments. It tells its story without words, relying on environmental cues and symbolism.

Which can be both moving and a little too vague depending on the people playing this, so if you don't like interpretative titles than stir away from this one. The puzzles themselves are generally simple, often involving light, perspective, or sound to progress. While accessible, they can feel repetitive and lack the depth that puzzle enthusiasts might expect.

Ultimately, RiME is less about challenge and more about the journey. It’s a meditative, emotional experience that resonates most with those who value mood, art, and storytelling over mechanics. This game is a heartfelt, reflective adventure, though not without its shortcomings. This won't win any awards, or have the same level as something like the already mentioned Journey, bit it is one of the most enjoyable puzzle games I've ever played.

Even when its mechanics start to show their limits, it maintains a quiet sincerity that carries it through to the end. The gradual unveiling of its themes gives emotional context to the solitude and exploration, reframing earlier moments in a more powerful light. It may not have the same quality as something like Journey, but it leaves a lasting impression that lingers well after the credits roll. For people willing to embrace its slower pace and symbolic storytelling, this title offers a touching and memorable experience that proves simplicity can still be deeply affecting.

This is an absolutely gorgeous game, beautiful to look at, rich and emotional soundtrack, and engaging, though never very difficult, puzzles. I went into this knowing nothing, and you're thrown into the world with no instructions, no backstory, no intro, nothing. But I still found it intuitive and enjoyable. The only frustration came from pathfinding issues and times I just couldn't find my way forward.

I was about halfway through when I was thinking, I might add this to my play again pile because I missed so many collectibles. But fucking hell, the game takes a real sharp emotional turn that was hinted at, but I did not see coming. I probably sobbed through the last hour of the game. (I also have issues with stuff like this, so your mileage may very.) Not the best time for this kind of thing.

Anyways, I strongly recommend Rime, heartbreak and all. I think you'll find it richly rewarding.

Had my eye for this one for a while and was not disappointed.

Rime is a game much in the likes of Journey or Abzu with a bit of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus mixed in. What it means is that it’s mostly exploration game with some puzzle elements - though they will not tax your mind much.

A lovely, peaceful experience in a beautifully crafted world. You play as a boy washed away on the beach after a storm. Without any more context all you can do is explore the island following a fox. You'll get some glimpses of the story, some clues of what's going on in the world but I must admit I did not see the ending coming.

The world is great with a great sense of scale. It has a little bit of meditterean feel to it, very sunny and pleasant. Old structures look both impressive and interesting and its a real joy for the eyes to just look around and explore.

The game is a lot longer than I originally expected but it doesn't drag. It's perhaps just a little too long but just.

The locations, puzzles, atmosphere ask combine into a really great experience. I've enjoyed it quite a lot and would recommend without hesitation.

I liked Rime a lot for its structure - This is largely a game about exploration, with few risks and a few puzzles. It's mostly a mellow game, letting one wander around it sometimes-bleak environment, not sure what's going on but managing to guide you along nicely and show lovely vistas along the way. I found that the more it turned to pressure (timing puzzles and the predatory bird coming to mind), the weaker the experience was. I assume those were there to prevent the game from being a one-note game, but I felt the control and the soul of the game were not built for that.

I liked the general mystery and atmosphere-filled scenery better but felt it was a bit too long, and I recommend playing it in shorter bursts. The ending was very surprising and tonally jarring but succeeded emotionally for me.

This is a fine game. I liked it. I did not love it.

I did not find the world as joyous to explore as that of ABZÛ. And while the story has at least one clever narrative trick up its sleeve, it did not teach me anything about myself the way Journey did. Because RiME never quite reaches the same heights (depths?), the 5 or 6 hours I spent playing felt a little long.

RiME is frequently gorgeous, but the narrative's descent into darkness means its most awe-inspiring visual moments are fleeting... your progress often results in a darkening or desaturation of the environment, which can be kind of a bummer. This is not exactly the "blue sky" exploration game it may appear to be from its marketing materials: RiME is mostly introspective and melancholy.

The soundtrack is artfully composed, but frequently disjointed from the action. The orchestra occasionally swells for no apparent reason, which can be confusing if you've been trained by games like Metroid to take cues from music.

The game's puzzles are intuitively designed and avoid reliance on physics or other buggy mechanics. Some reward the player with environmental or architectural changes that are satisfying to achieve. Others simply open a door or reveal a staircase, which begins to feel tedious after a while. That sense of ennui isn't helped by character movement that always feels a tad more labored than it needs to (less thatgamecompany, more Team Ico).

If you're hungry for another game in the vein of Journey or Ico, you'll find something to like in RiME. You may even love RiME if its sad themes speak to you. Personally, I feel its impact would have been stronger if they had removed the more tedious sections and presented the story in a more concise way.

Rating: 7.5/10

It's definitely a good game, almost great, I just don't think it brings enough to the table. Everything about it is fine, be it the gameplay, puzzles, visuals, music, etc, but it doesn't go above and beyond to become one of the great examples of this type of game.

For example, the puzzles are okay but repetitive, and not especially interesting. Or the music, which is also entertaining enough, but it kind of reeks of trying to make the game more epic than it is, unlike Journey which earns the soundtrack. The environmental storytelling is a little obtuse but occasionally inspired, mostly just kind of neat, much like the rest of the game.

If you're into a game like Journey or any of the Team ICO games than you should seek this out, but otherwise it probably won't introduce enough to make you a fan. It reminds me of Abzu in that regard, but I would argue this is better.