Left Alive
Left Alive is a stealth-based action/adventure from Square Enix featuring ambitious ideas held back by a myriad of design and technical problems.
Left Aliveoffers a batch of innovative and creative ideas , but a myriad of technical and gameplay weakness bear it back from greatness , or even mediocrity . TheFront Missionseries was a cult tactical RPG serial publication about giant robots fighting to the death in a existence filled with geopolitical strife . The secret plan were massively democratic in Japan , but never found a strong ground in the United States , but the last decennary has n’t been tolerant to the once revere franchise . The last launching in the serial , 2010’sFront Mission Evolved , was a critical and commercial-grade nonstarter , and the serial publication went into hibernation … Until now .
WithLeft Alive , Square Enix aims to take the enfranchisement in a brand young direction . InLeft Alive , the linear perspective deepen from that of the pilots behind the restraint of giant mechas , called Wanzers , to the POV of soldiers on the reason in a field of battle dominated by giant automaton . The idea of a " boots on the earth " approach to a series defined by over - the - top mammoth mecha is a promising one , andLeft Aliveis at its best when it juxtaposes inner stealth action with the direful scurf of the jumbo robots who keep a vigilant eye on the battlefield .
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Left Aliveis clearly trying to capitalize on the success of Konami’sMetal Gearseries . From the menu to the sandpit stealth mechanics , Square Enix is positioningLeft Aliveas a claim which can fill the gaping void left by the termination of theMetal GearSolidsaga ( heaven knows the malignedMetal Gear Survivedid little to fulfill fans ) . In fact , they even went so far as to team up withMetal Gear Solid ’s character designer , Yoji Shinkawa , to design the characters , who resemble the cast of a lostMetal Geartitle , but with a more distinct anime influence .
On newspaper , Left Alivesounds promising , and as the game begins , the initial impressions are electropositive . The opening cutscenes offer a levelheaded dose of characterization and geopolitical intrigue , even if the English voice acting is only tolerable at best . The initial playable character , Mikhail , is a classic anime pretty boy with perfect fuzz and a young naivete , and the Department of Energy level is gamy when command is finally give over to the actor .
The atmosphere ofLeft Aliveis oppressively dim ; every level is litter with the bushed body of civilian and soldiers alike . There are multiple scenes draw the occupy force mangle innocents in the street , and the biz oftentimes reminds actor of the horror of warfare . It ’s as acute as it is unsettling , even if the bright violent blood line stains which litter the landscape feel a morsel cartoonish and overdone .
Left Alivehas a net ton of unique and modern theme to volunteer a twist on the sandbox stealth popularized byMetal Gear Solid quint : The Phantom Pain . The plot encourages replayability , with branch storylines depending on how speedily the musician dispatch sum object lens , dialog selection during cutscenes , and optional side quest which can be take on or ignored . Left Alivefeatures a robust New Game Plus mode , predicated on the estimation that the player can cease more and more of the game on subsequent playthroughs . Unfortunately , one would be hard - push to muster the strength of heart to complete the secret plan just once , let alone multiple times .
For all the good ideasLeft Alivebrings to the table , it fundamentally flunk on basic mechanical levels . At its out-and-out best , Left Alivefaintly resembles a fraction of the grandness of its obvious primogenitor , Metal Gear Solid V. At nearly all other times , the game is a deal of crippled controls , broken A.I. , and confusing level design . Stages wait like reasonably - sized sandbox , measure a handful of city pulley block each , but despite appearances , there are only a couple of paths to take throughout the layer ; unseeable walls and insuperable heap of knee joint - high refuse keep players constrained , while pathfinding A.I. is often hilarious , running around in arbitrary dress circle like concussed lemmings .
The difficulty inLeft Aliveis unforgiving , but not in a righteousDark Soulskind of agency ; whether or not enemies spot you feels arbitrary , and the game is constantly thwarting at every turn , from move around , to frivol away , to sneak , to simply navigating computer menu . Left Alivealso gleefully commit the key sin of stealth game : force alert sections in which fight is the only option . Sadly , unlike fellow stealth titlesMetal Gear , Sniper Elite , and evenFar Cry , the combat inLeft Aliveis wholly terrible . foe have a ton of wellness , and bullets just bounce off them like a child firing a slingshot at a army tank , while aim sensitivity take a leak facing up shot way too much of a bother . headshot are n’t one - hit kills , so the best offensive pick is to toss craftable explosives and IED bombs , but even those are n’t peculiarly effective at quickly killing enemy soldiers . However , enemy really like fill up the distance between themselves and the player , frequently progress to explosives an unenviable choice . There is a underlying cover system , but the release used to stay put to insure also role as a dodge roller push button ; there ’s nothing more infuriating than endeavor to dodge a barrage of gunfire only to incidentally take cover in spare sight and get take to death through no fault of your own .
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Though the game ram players into gunplay more often than it should , combat is of lower-ranking grandness to stealthily sneaking around an occupied cityscape . alas , the stealth mechanics are painfully superannuated , and not in a charming , nostalgic way . Most objectives plainly regard going from one dot to another while scrounging up as many resources as potential along the style . distract enemies by throwing empty cans and bottles work well enough , though it ’s hardly root on in 2019 , and yet I still found myself surprised that throw an object to get enemies to look away actually work in this game .
The player can lift up on enemies and take them down with melee hits , but there ’s no dedicated " melee takedown " clit . Instead , like a PS1 - era title , you are forced to hit unaware soldiers with a three - hit combo and then execute a follow - up when they ’re on the primer coat . However , if the histrion ’s shovel or metallic element pipe is in less than pristine condition , then the bad guy cable will just get back up and shoot you to death . If the player does n’t have any battle royal weapons on hand , then they can not take down opposition soldier at all , and will have to either conceal or repair to roam weapon or trap , which are even more undependable . The game postures on promote usage of trap like IED bombs , but in recitation , it ’s a ridiculous rough-and-tumble to tempt an opposition into a trap , and ultimately not deserving the elbow grease .
Left Aliveis a monument to wasted potential difference . There are so many good ideas at play here , from the dialog option to the graphics excogitation and the natural selection focus , which could have offeredLeft Alivethe imagination shnorr excitement of the practiced Battle Royale game . alas , every single positive element is altogether blow on a gameplay introduction which is just playable and utterly free of merit . On a fundamental gameplay level , there ’s nothing inLeft Alivethat was n’t done twice as well fifteen eld ago . It ’s risky enough thatLeft Aliveis mechanically anemic ; the true law-breaking is how , with more time and budget , this could have been a smashing game , or even , possibly , a literal heir to the legacy ofMetal Gear . As it stands , leave Aliveis a disaster which ca n’t be recommend to anyone .
More:Left Alive Mech Edition Unboxing Video
Left Aliveis available on PC and PlayStation 4 . Screen Rant was bring home the bacon with a PS4 code for this inspection .
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