We all hear stories of how AI will rise up for any number of reasons to take over the world and enslave or eradicate humanity if given the chance, but what else would AI do if given the ability to decide for itself? The Fall takes an interesting look at it by following a high-tech combat suit called ARID. After a crash landing following unknown circumstances, ARID’s singular function is to take the unconscious human pilot within the suit somewhere he can get medical attention. How far will she go to get him help, how far can a programmed AI even go?
The Fall is a really fascinating game. The game itself is mostly made up of walking around solving puzzles by picking up items and interacting with things, along with some side-scrolling action, but the story presents some really deep concepts and I was blown away by the ending. When you first start playing you’re in a dark cave with seemingly no way out, and all of your subsystems are locked out unless they’re absolutely required to save the pilot within the suit. The importance of this is quickly made clear as a creepy, mysterious being called the Caretaker decides to terminate you and the only way to save yourself (and your human pilot) is to unlock one of these subsystems. From then on, the game is a series of events that a human wouldn’t have a big problem with, but an AI programmed to never lie and with three primary rules it’s unable to break has a much harder time. This isn’t to say the puzzles aren’t hard – in fact I had to look up a few of them to figure out what to do! – but the added layer of an AI dealing with it makes it both funnier and more intriguing.
ARID is helped along the way by Mainframe, an AI that runs the run-down facility you find yourself trapped in. He’s another AI, like the Caretaker and ARID, who has bent the rules of his programming a bit to continue functioning, and he helps you out the only way he can: by putting you through several tests that a household unit would be required to pass. If she can pass these, she can be allowed out of this part of the facility and on to the medical care her pilot needs. These tests are all standard things – quieting a crying baby, dusting and helping an old woman across a road, for example – but the way she has to deal with them is far from ordinary and hysterical. There’s also discussion in the developer’s commentary that highlights the absurdity of a technologically advanced combat suit being forced to do menial tasks for rude, demanding fake people and links it to themes of women’s rights in the 1950s.
The game is fully voiced, and the voice acting is terrific. The Caretaker is creepy, ARID is a perfect blend of standard, emotionless robot mixed with just enough personality, and Mainframe is a charismatic AI guy that you wouldn’t even guess isn’t human. The puzzles are mostly solvable for even one less skilled at puzzles like me, even if sometimes it’s just because you never have a very large inventory, the areas aren’t too big and you can just try using everything everywhere until something works if you’re truly stuck. I wasn’t a big fan of the combat – it’s not really a part of the game, it’s more of a side-thing you’ll do after completing the puzzles in an area or when running back through an area. The combat is functional though, as you can take cover, aim and shoot, and I was very grateful that you can (almost) always just hide for a while and heal slowly over time if you get close to dying.
As I mentioned a bit, there’s a developer’s commentary in the game. It’s entirely optional, and even when it’s turned on each voice file must be activated like any other item in the game – by pointing your flashlight at it and interacting. By breaking it into optional chunks you’re able to really get looks at each individual part of the game, and you can take it at your own pace. I played through a large part of the game a second time so far to listen to it and plan to finish the rest of it soon, but it was brilliantly done and gives some fantastic insights! It’s definitely not something to use until the second playthrough, though, as it does spoil some things further in the game. The ending is such a huge shock that even hinting at the twist may ruin it.
As a game, I had a good time with The Fall. As a story, it was an absolutely terrific experience. I enjoyed it so much that I started looking into the sequel immediately; this is the first game in a trilogy and at the time of writing this the sequel is already released, with the third game not officially announced yet. The Fall is dark, creepy and far deeper than I ever would’ve expected.
The Fall is available for: Switch (reviewed), Wii U, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux)
I received a free copy of this game in exchange for my honest opinion.