When I reviewed the first entry in the Remothered trilogy, I enjoyed my experience just enough to keep the name on my radar. Aside from some minor technical issues that I really hoped would be ironed out in the subsequent releases, it was worth a playthrough at a discount. It had a decent story and a chilling cast of creepy enemies for you to evade, and overall it was a solid freshman entry into the horror genre. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when Jason handed me a code to review the follow-up. Unfortunately,  Remothered: Broken Porcelain takes everything the original managed to deliver on and take a few steps backward in terms of quality.

From a technical standpoint, this is one of the most disappointing games of this generation, and this is coming from someone who legitimately wanted Agony to be good. The scariest thing about this game is the staggering number of bugs and issues that I encountered in my playthrough. There’s shoddy AI that is downright dumb and will give up the chase when you’re clearly still within their field of view, getting hung up on the slightest obstruction in the environment; items that are required to proceed through the campaign will be missing from the game world with the exception of their shadow; broken QTE events; unresponsive button prompts and the list could go on but I think at this point, you get it. As the name implies, this is a broken game.

Much like the original, it mostly focuses on light puzzle-solving and hide and seek gameplay that asks you to sneak about, evading a large cast of crazed locals with little to no means of offense. The big difference here is that the puzzles are watered down to the point that it’s mainly searching for specific keys or items that unlock the path forward, but usually just result in the figurative carrot being pulled just out of reach again and again. The stealth element is there, but since the AI is lacking, it is entirely possible to sprint from point A to point B, ignoring the pursuing baddies that have the brain cells of a box of Legos. There are a couple of new mechanics featured, the most noteworthy being the ability to transform into a moth, allowing you to reach areas that a bi-pedal being could not. In some cases, it’s used to distract a dog (that is already barking mind you) and draws the stalking enemies’ attention away from you. It’s something that never really feels at home in this game thematically, despite leaning heavily into the realm of the supernatural. Less thrilling is the option to craft items, but this feels somewhat pointless as you’re usually crafting items that can be used to distract the lumbering crazies, and they can be used in their unaltered form with the same result in most cases.

The story, which works as both a sequel and prequel, is a convoluted mess that yet again includes longer than average cut scenes that look heads and tails above the original, but are overflowing with the same long-winded expositions that I called out in the first entry. I wouldn’t say that you have to have completed the first game to fully understand what’s going on here, because there is a handy recap video at the onset, but even as a veteran of the story I found myself lost regularly due to the repeated time jumps and flashbacks that made this really hard to follow. Adding to the confusion is the way that the protagonist often cuts away from a cut scene and teleports to a completely different area with no explanation, which is common and results in some of the most jarring transitions I’ve experienced in recent memory.

The one outright positive I found in my time with this game was the visuals, which offer super detailed facial animations as well as lifelike lighting and textures. I would stab my grandmother in the face with a spork to get a Silent Hill game with this level of visual fidelity. I was also pleased to find the Red Nun making a return, as well as the new baddie who evokes a young Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes vibe. I personally find Annie to be one of the more terrifying horror icons, because we all know there are people out there who are this crazy and could snap like an ankle with just a little push. Sadly, the horror elements found in this experience are significantly lacking, leaning more towards generic shock value (killing that previously mentioned dog being a low point for me). The only area that evoked any sense of dread from me was the chase music that is very reminiscent of the industrial tones found in the Otherworld segments from the Silent Hill universe, but this feeling is lost as the game glitches yet again, leaving the music to run endlessly until I hit the next loading screen, which is unusually long for this late in the console generation, taking 3+ minutes to fully get into the game.

Remothered: Broken Porcelain is something that I could see being patched into a functional game, but I feel like it would still fail to live up to the bar the original reached. Where mystery and palpable dread once lived is now inhabited by a beautiful shell that is overflowing with bugs and shock value, much like a broken antique doll.

3 out of 10

Pros

• The Return of the Red Nun
• Highly Detailed Visuals
• Thrilling Chase Music

Cons

• Bugs Galore
• Longer Than Average Load Times
• Broken AI
• New Mechanics Feel Pointless
• Values Shock Over Tension

Remothered: Broken Porcelain was developed by Stormind Games and published by Modus Games. It is available on PC, NS, PS4 and X1. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of Remothered: Broken Porcelain, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.