Valley's heart is most definitely in the right place, and for the most part it succeeds in the execution of its gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, the game's technical faults can't be ignored. The sloppy framerate in particular damages the experience far too much, and has held back what would otherwise be a great game.
Adr1ft is by no means a bad game, but it comes with a few key caveats. Its opening hour is fantastic, as you begin to piece together what has happened and perilously search for the next oxygen canister, but it's the back half of the game that severely lets this intergalactic adventure down. And despite the story and its setting being so intriguing, it's not enough to paper over the glaring flaws present.
The Technomancer offers up a couple of highs and a few too many lows. Its approach to open ended gameplay is appreciated and its combat is fun enough for the first ten hours, but the game eventually loses steam and its story is nothing worth shouting about. To make matters worse, technical problems harm the experience to the point where you'll find it hard to care about the characters during what are supposed to be emotional scenes. There's certainly something here for forgiving RPG fans, but for everyone else, we can only advise caution when it comes to this rough Martian adventure.
There Came an Echo feels like more of a proof of concept than an actual game. The voice control does work well if you have the right headset, but it only goes so far in making up for the dreary gameplay on offer. And while the story is serviceable enough and the graphics are eye-catching, they don't do enough to turn this into a compelling game. If the idea of controlling a title using only your voice really does excite you then this may be worth a look, but if not, consider commanding yourself to buy a different game.
