Cayne (PC) Review

Cayne is a point and click adventure with an isometric perspective. Anyone who can recall yesteryear greats such as 1998's Sanitarium will have an instant understanding of how this game works. Getting around is a simple task, thanks in part to the pointer. When it hovers over a suspicious object, it gives everyone just enough information to figure out if it's something that necessitates a closer look. This helps to cut down on the "pixel hunts" that plagued far too many of the earliest games in the genre.

That's not to say that Hadley won't struggle with figuring out what to do next. The earliest portions are a little confusing, solutions are rarely obvious, and "adventure game logic" rears its ugly head occasionally. It might take a little awhile to get accustomed to how everything works. Thankfully, the game world is organised around a central hub, with each branch leading to different areas of the facility. Many areas are gated off, so Hadley can't just wander around and get lost. A lot of important information is found in terminals and PDAs, so she'll always have a basic idea of what to do next, as long as she investigates everything. It also helps to take notes, even if just to keep backtracking to a minimum.

A fair amount of the 2+ hour play time is going to be spent learning that the workers in this facility are a special mix of insanity and depravity. Considering the circumstances that got Hadley in this horrid situation, it doesn't need to be stated, but wow! There are some very disturbed individuals interested in her baby. The facility itself is a grotesque nightmare, filled with imagery that's bound to shock and disgust both Hadley and the player.

The level of horrifying detail brings to mind another classic of the past. Might and Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven features, among other adversaries, a small army of cannibals. Anyone familiar with cannibalism has every reason to fear them, but this RPG went the extra mile by providing the gory details. In the outskirts of the countryside, there are intricately-modelled bodies that have been cut apart and skewered to create an ungodly display. It's an impressive sight to be sure, but that just makes it all the creepier. Somebody put a lot of effort into drawing corpses. Cayne offers a similarly high level of effort when it comes to matters of the macabre.

This game also does a fine job at other necessary elements such as the atmosphere, music, and storyline. The questionable subject matter is also liable to provoke some thought, even after the adventure is over. There's a bit of levity, dark as it tends to be, in this twisted facility. Hadley cracks wise fairly often, but never in a manner that's detrimental to the current situation. Unsurprisingly, the replay value is non-existent, but that's not a huge concern.