The Fall Part 2: Unbound (Nintendo Switch) Review

Although The Fall slightly stumbled in the gameplay department, it managed to offer a worthwhile experience, in large part due to its atmosphere and commitment to the theme of humanity. A.R.I.D.'s arc had a sincerity and cleverness to it that elevated the entire story. Going into Unbound, it's only natural it expand and follow up on not only the protagonist's arc, but also the themes at play - and, at least conceptually, Part 2's approach to humanity is rather promising.

A.R.I.D. has lost her body, and has found herself forced to interact with the world by possessing different AIs. It's a premise that makes sense for the character, the story, and the gameplay, but it's one that isn't utilized with nearly as much creativity and quality as the first instalment. Narratively, while such a shift in the storyline makes sense, the script comes off severely lacking. The dialogue isn't written nearly as strong this time around, as the script wants to be clever, whereas the original simply was clever.

The pacing is also a major issue in here. The first journey was short and paced itself just right with a quick burst at the end to lead into the second instalment. Unbound has none of that grace, replacing a methodical experience with one that feels painfully scattered. To make matters worse, the atmosphere that may very well have defined The Fall's first third is all but absent. Having A.R.I.D. inhabit AIs that aren't her own is a good idea in theory, but it kills one of the series' best qualities in practice.

This is to say nothing of the fact that the theme of humanity isn't nearly as well explored in this second part mostly due to the decrease in writing quality. There's an attempt at introspection made, but it feels less earnest and more "expected." The sad truth is that A.R.I.D.'s arc came to a close one third into the trilogy and Part 2 doesn't do enough to justify the continuation of her character's "development." Shockingly, the one aspect that that was a no brainer for improvement, but actually comes out all the worse is the puzzle design.

Puzzles weren't outright bad in Part 1, but they weren't great either - serviceable for the most part, yet left much to be desired. Here, they're just downright poor. There's no discernible difficulty curve at play, and most puzzles are either painfully simple to solve, or too obtuse for their own good. Combat is as mediocre as ever, as well, with even less justification for its inclusion than before. Where the first instalment had a solid narrative making up for the gameplay's shortcomings, Unbound has nothing. The only reason to play The Fall Part 2 is for the off chance that Part 3 manages to bring everything together into a satisfying conclusion. Truth be told, though, it's not looking promising.