Fractured Minds (PlayStation 4) Review

Fractured Minds does not, thankfully, fit the traditional game mould. For one, it's incredibly short. A well-educated play-through clocked in at six and a half minutes. However, at the modest asking price of a dollar and forty-nine cents, this isn't a huge deal. Secondly, this experience is about being in the world Emily has conceived, and less about doing video game things like fighting or levelling-up.

When it comes to realizing the world, this was done very well. Between the exceptional music, the atmosphere, and the general gameplay flow, everything here works. Sure, there are no high-res textures or sweeping opuses to be found, but for what this is, everything shines. While the art isn't incredibly detailed, it's more than enough to paint you into the world, even if each location is only visited for a short period of time.

In terms of actually tackling the subject matter, this is brilliant. Between visual cues of failure and tension, the characters rapid breathing, and abrasive text on screen, this title encapsulates anxiety with precision and power. The way the text attacks your failures, and the way an ominous presence ties the levels together, is perfect. Trying to figure out the puzzles, while your character is breathing, is subtly filling every moment with palpable dread. It's genius.

In regards to any complaints, there are only a couple. Puzzles can be a little confusing to follow, particularly in chapters four and six. The puzzles are framed well enough, but it can take a bit of messing around to really grasp where the puzzle is supposed to be taking you. Chapter four is actually a personal favourite in terms of what the level is conveying, so it's by no means a bad level. The puzzles are just a bit too esoteric within the context of the game.

The only other complaint is a bit more frustrating. Every so often (this is especially happened during the first play-through of chapter five), a certain action will be completed and then the character gets stuck. They just stop responding to input and won't move. Now, this is usually remedied by jumping, though once or twice during chapter five it required allowing a fail state to occur to resolve. It wasn't a dead stop, by any means, but it was a noticeable wrinkle that just needs to be ironed out.