The Fall Part 2: Unbound Review

The Fall Part 2: Unbound picks up where you left ARID three years ago, and continues the dark tale of an AI stranded in an astronaut’s suit. From the get-go, you’re offered a new difficulty level from the original, shown here as “minimal”, in which, there’s less combat scenarios to deal with, allowing you to really concentrate on the unfolding story-line of ARID.

Out of the gate, it’s worth mentioning that grabbing yourself a primer on the events of the first part of The Fall trilogy, so that you can familiarise yourself with ARID and how you ended up being an AI controlled space-suit is recommended - though not entirely necessary, as Part 2 happily gives you a recap of events up to this point. I’d fully recommend a playthrough of the first game though, as it has both great gameplay and a deep storyline to go with it.

This time, however, you’re not entirely alone. You pickup from the freefall you were previously in, and realise that you’re no longer bound by the rules that led you before. This time, it’s all about maintaining your self-preservation. Given the onslaught of a virus attack, your only chance of survival is to take control of various hosts to help save yourself. This opens you up to the worlds of the One, the Butler and the Companion, each of which have their own backstories to experience. In the interests of keeping this spoiler free, details of their stories have been omitted, however, their stories are just as important as your own.

There’s less of a focus on combat this time around, and the game relies more on the puzzles to progress through the story. Personally, I found this a much better tact to keep me engrossed than merely changing screen to screen and mindlessly dispatching with enemies. I did find myself lost on a couple of occasions, without so much of a guide to assist - but honestly, it’s been a long time since a game allowed you to get this way without feeling like it’s playing itself.

Additionally, there’s been some tweaks to ARID’s movement abilities, now she can move around a lot more freely than before, as well as now having the ability to jump, allowing you the feeling of being that much more nimble than before. There’s a new “lock-on” ability, so that you can dispatch enemies with aplomb along with parrying, so that you can really rub it in your enemies faces.

Over The Moon have taken everything that made The Fall great and turned it up to eleven. Graphically, the game is still set in its over the top dull atmosphere, but this only serves to make those spots of gameplay where there’s something else going on that much more vibrant and full of life, with ARID herself looking a bit more refined than her first outing. Maybe there was something else that happened during that freefall...

Overall, Part 2 really steps up the game, and sets up the finale of the trilogy quite nicely. Here’s hoping the wait isn’t as long as between parts one and two, though!