Fragments of Him is a game about Loss, Grief, Love, and life. It's a tragic two-hour journey inside the three, looking back on the lives of their loved ones and the memories of the deceased. It takes most of the time to reach emotional heights, but when you finally reach it, you'll connect players to each of their characters and instantly connect to the vastness of their devastation. Do it with open humanity.
(Fragment of Him, Sassybot, 2016, [Game], Available on Windows, Xbox and PlayStation)
Will is an ordinary man in his prime, living a good life. He went through a difficult and often disoriented youth. We join him as he settles into the laid-back routines and sunny challenges of middle age. He has a successful career. He lives with the one he loves and who loves him. He wants to complete marriage and union with his family.
In early games, players follow Will throughout the morning of their daily activities. Get out of bed, turn off the alarm and brush your teeth. We literally follow Will and follow clues to do boring things. Objects in space are highlighted. Click Watch the scene and hear Will reflect on this life, his desires, doubts, and ambitions.
The player connects with Will and the game's other characters by hanging out, pottering around, observing, and listening.
Fragments of Him is a game of small tasks and big ideas.
You can move through each scene and explore the surroundings. But this is a sparse world, the scenes are sparsely written, no waste or fillers. I don't have much to do other than being with these people. Fragments of Him is a drama that asks players to turn pages and click on the next page.
At the beginning of the game, Will is involved in a fatal car accident. It's a moment as monotonous as the rest of his morning. Screams, crashes, darkness, silence. Then the angle changes to his college girlfriend, his grandmother, and his lover. Everyone will, in turn, remember good times and bad times. It depicts him transitioning from childhood through the youth turmoil to something bigger. We see a normal person living a normal life and realize that his life, like all other lives, is as precious, unique and infinitely valuable. As the game progresses, it becomes clear that these characters tell a story, not just Will. It is also calmly clear that we must witness one of the greatest moments in their lives. It's the news that Will has died and how they deal with it.
There are moments in the game where the dull tone becomes overwhelmingly heavy, especially early on. Like an architect's drawing, the world is beautifully rendered and clean, but its coolness is carried over to the character's visuals.
They always look sad, even in situations where they have to be happy. Her appearance is eerie and mannequin-like. Beyond that, it will take some time to fully accept them as the people being communicated to us through the game's excellent writing and voice acting. Dark visual tones are accompanied by a sad, shimmering piano soundtrack. This is becoming a cliché for sad storytelling games such as That Dragon and Cancer. It's been achieved, but it's all too familiar.
There are moments when the game decides to remember the commitment, injects an interactive burst into the action, and prompts the player to click on multiple items to advance the story. This can feel like a chore. However, in some cases, these actions can clearly signal a strong signal. In some cases, the player is given dialogue options, but these are hardly considered options. The interactive details are not as interesting as the drama that opens up the lives of those who suffer from the general condition of the bereaved.
His fragments virtually place us only a few feet away from a figure thinking big, asking us only to watch and listen. No doubt, the tedious "but is it really a game?" the crowd will add it to their list of "walking simulators" that aren't right, as if the action were the form's an only notable feature.
Comments