Waking, a surreal upcoming adventure game from solo developer Jason Oda, blurs the line between these relationships: it is purely about you, the player.
Waking is a personal journey through the mind of a coma patient. This review of Waking explores how successful the game is at achieving its lofty abitions.
WTMG's Heidi Hawes: "I’m honestly disappointed by the missed potential of Waking. The concept is outstanding and I wanted to love it, I really did. Aside from the numerous issues I’ve already mentioned, the biggest downfall is that it just didn’t know what kind of game it wanted to be. I’d say it’s a classic case of “too many cooks in the kitchen”, but it was developed by only one person. The peaceful reflective nature of the premise is in stark contrast to the faulty action game it tries to be at other times. I’m impressed with how much Jason Oda was able to create on his own, but in this current state, the core concept is lost. It’s such a shame because with a bigger budget and a clearer idea of what sort of experience he wanted to present to us, Waking could have been something truly special."
Gareth writes: "Ultimately, there is a deep sense of regret from playing Waking on Xbox One because I feel there is something brilliant and life-affirming underneath all that is presented. The meditative sections and use of your personal details are unique and something I enjoyed, and there are certainly some great ideas within. However, Waking will divide gamers, with some loving this intriguing premise and others being put off by the overly long, randomly generated areas."
