Project Downfall is a game that wants to be John Wick meets Hotline Miami and fails at understanding what made either property work. The game tries to have a plot about fighting Russian mobsters after a bad day when you try and head home but it does not work when the basic story is shallow like it is here. What we get instead is a game that sees how good those other franchises are but doesn’t see past the most surface elements.
The photosensitivity issues actually started right away with an early section having an uncomfortable amount of flashing done in a way that made me dizzy, but things calmed down for a bit. As things continued on though, it became clear that Project Downfall was a game that was going to be style of substance and seemed to think flashy visuals to simulate a breakdown was the way to go. Flashing lights in a game are not necessarily bad but in this case, we were left with something just pointless.
Combat feels absolutely shallow right from the start and never gets any better. Action games should have depth, and Hotline Miami had its own sense of depth but Project Downfall just feels artificial. There was nothing to keep me going and I wanted to stop out of boredom and lack of internet long before the game became unsafe for me to play. I need to stress that if a developer wants the flashing effects in their game, that is their right, but Project Downfall really overdoes it and for no reason.
Everything here just feels like the most generic action title and what plot there is feels like it misses the point completely. When my friend took over playing for me, he described the game as the most bland title he had played in the last few months and seemed surprised that it was a finished product. The enemy ai feels wrong, the art gets in its own way too much and it just becomes a race to the depths of mediocrity, but it is the only racer and yet running as fast as it can so it can come first in the uncontested race.
As you can probably guess, I did not like Project Downfall from what I was able to play. I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone give this a try when there are so many other games that are actually worth your time and hard-earned money, where you will get far more enjoyment and pleasure. Just skip this one and you will be happy avoiding an unoptimized mess of a game that just simply did not understand the assignment that it was given.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
