Camera angles are fixed. Animations that are clumsy. Clues jotted down in a lined notepad. Puzzles with moving blocks. Broken Pieces, which debuted a new trailer at the IGN Expo on Friday, strongly reminds me of early 2000s 3D adventure games.
The “psychological thriller” aspects then appeared at the conclusion, with psychedelic flying pebbles and what appears to be a cloud monster assaulting our very typical protagonist. After that, it’s back to resolving a fuse box puzzle—Broken Pieces is unmistakably an adventure game in which things will go strange at some time.
Steam’s pitch is as follows: “The game puts you in the shoes of Elise, a lady in her thirties who lives in the town of Saint-Exil in a fictional region resembling Brittany. Following an unknown paranormal occurrence, Elise finds herself trapped in a time loop that causes her to relive the same day again and over. Your research starts right here…”
The pitch includes fixed camera angles reminiscent of Silent Hill, as well as a “novel fighting system” that, as far as I can tell, consists of standing still and firing at cloud creatures that slowly approach you. That specific section of Broken Pieces doesn’t appear particularly appealing, however the makers do state on Steam that it is still in early development and contains placeholder animations. Another aspect that appeals to me is the ability to return sections of the game as the weather changes. I enjoy a nice snowfall, especially when it changes the world in some manner.
Broken Pieces will be available for PC and consoles in the second quarter of 2022.
