The Long Reach

When I think back to a lot of my favorite horror movies and games, I find that it's not the bloody kills or the monster designs that made me fall in love, but rather the writing. From fleshing out characters to creating an unpredictable story that's engaging from the jump, horror writers don't get enough credit these days. That's how I felt while playing through The Long Reach, the debut release from Painted Black Games. While the pop culture references and dopey jokes are going to rub some players the wrong way, I found myself fully sucked into the twisted tale of a science experiment gone awry.

This is one of those games where it's best to keep things vague. What I can say is that you take control of a guy named Stewart, who finds himself stuck at work after something terrible has gone wrong. His colleagues are either dead or ... changed. All he knows is that he needs to solve a bunch of graphic adventure-style puzzles to save his friends and get out of the building alive.

Of course, there's a lot more to it than that. This is one of those games that lulls you into thinking it's going to be a simple survival horror game, only to rip the rug out from under your feet and change things entirely. This is a game that isn't afraid to jump to different characters, show us terrifying hallucinations, and twist things up when you're least expecting it. And boy does this game have twists.

If you've played a point and click adventure game before then you'll already have head start when it comes to making it through research facility alive. A lot of the gameplay revolves around picking up useful items and finding where they go. You don't have to combine objects or hunt and peck like most games in the genre, as The Long Reach isn't as demanding as the classic point and clickers you're probably used to. That said, some of the puzzles are just as obtuse. The solutions make sense, for the most part, but there are certainly a few where the logic is a bit strained.

Although it's mostly set in a single building, the developers have done a good job of making each section look and feel different. There's a real sense of dread hanging over the entire compound, even when you're doing little more than investigating a music room or break room. The pixel graphics may look simple, but they add a lot of detail to what used to be a bright and upbeat workplace. I like the look of the game and felt that it did a lot to add to the tension.

Unfortunately, some of the atmosphere is undermined by the pop culture references and jokes. I mentioned early in this review that I liked the writing, and that's true. But for as much as I dig the story, characters and twists, I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the things Stewart said. I don't know, maybe that's how he copes with scary situations, but hearing him bring up Final Fantasy and Star Wars when his friends are dying took me out of the experience.

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It sometimes feels like there's a tug-of-war happening between the story writer and the person scripting the dialog. The pop culture stuff calms down quite a bit when Stewart is chatting with the other survivors, but the moment you get back to solving puzzles, the quippy side comes out again. Thankfully, I found the horror setting and science fiction story to be more compelling than the stabs at comedy.

The real problem here has little to do with the pop culture references or the occasional bone-headed puzzle, but rather the rampant technical issues. I ran into a number of problems in the back half, including important characters that wouldn't talk to me and puzzles I couldn't interact with. After looking around, it seems there are widespread bugs being reported. That's a shame, as there's so much about this game that I like.

From a storytelling perspective, The Long Reach is a masterclass in how to tell an effective horror story. It's more than just the fascinating twists, as the story also hints at a deeper social meaning. Unfortunately, some of the effective writing is undone by the lame pop culture references and a buggy second half. It's an imperfect beast, but The Long Reach is a stirring debut from Painted Black Games.