Asemblance (PS4, PC)
Developer: Nilos Studios
Release: June 21, 2016
Price: $10
Score: 8 out of 10
The video games industry is in possession of a wonderful pool of independent talent. Much like the low-budget and fiercely independent films of the 90s and early 2000s, small teams with big ambitions are bringing their ideas to life and using digital distribution to reach appreciative audiences.
The term “indie” no longer applies to bargain-bin platformers with pixels the size of cement bricks. Just take Asemblance, the first episode in an anthology that takes inspiration from Black Mirror and Twilight Zone.
Asemblance is interested in our memories: the subjectivity of them. It begins as you awaken in a scientific facility with only a mysterious AI voice for company. There’s a big computer console hooked up to a virtual simulator that allows you to access memories from “your” past, and from there, it begins: a descent down the rabbit hole as you piece together who you are and what you’ve done.
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The question of identity is writ large. The game takes on a first-person viewpoint, situating you front and centre in the action. The more you dig (scouring each memory bank for clues using R2 to zoom in on the scenery) the more you uncover.
It turns out you might be a scientist who once worked on a project dubbed 55-8F. To say any more would be to spoil a game that’s built on the idea that you – the player – are constructing your reality subjectively. Like memories, the experience of playing Asemblance is emotional and subjective. The story is what you make of it, and if you want to rush, you’ll come away disappointed.
On the other hand, put in the effort and you’ll be rewarded. The path to the really rare endings are documented across the internet in a trail of colourful breadcrumbs. There are hushed stories and bizarre anecdotes, like the story of the gamer who found an email address in the game that led to a message in his inbox – in real life! That’s the exciting thing about our medium: it has the unique ability to offer up wildly subjective experiences, and Asemblance embraces the idea wholeheartedly.
You can’t call it fun, per se, but it has the sort of singular atmosphere that gets under your skin and arrests your attention. It’s easy to mistake it for a horror game, but it’s not. There are no telegraphed scares. This is a dramatic thriller instead with an eerie atmosphere that calls to mind the rich tapestry of films that have inspired it. I particularly love the music, which is by Kid Simpl, a Seattle native. The visuals are splendid too. Built on the Unreal engine, Asemblance looks beautiful, and while there aren’t many locations to explore, the ones you do are rich in detail.
Critics that call Asemblance too short seem to be missing the point. Plumb for the first available ending and it can be finished in under an hour, but if you’ve got the appetite for a mystery, the experience is four or five times the length. Asemblance is as short or as long as you want to make it. If that sounds obtuse, it’s because this is an experience that doesn’t defy easy characterization. It isn’t “fun”. It isn’t even your typical video game. But is it worth your time and money? Yes.
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What are your thoughts on Asemblance? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
