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Pride before a fall, April 18, 2013I played Babel several years ago. Enough time had passed that I didn’t remember the puzzles, but I did remember I enjoyed the game and was particularly moved by the story. I’m happy to report it is still true.
There were a couple points where I considered looking up hints, but I didn’t need them. Puzzles made sense and I liked how the game was very clear about why something wouldn’t work. (Spoiler - click to show)The radiation puzzle was particularly ingenious, since it was understandable that the machine would be able to talk and report problems, which has the side effect of helping the player follow proper procedures. My only problem was getting the game to understand me sometimes. Wasn’t so much verb guessing as phrasing issues. Sometimes, I had to split commands and let the game ask me for clarification to get what I wanted. But it didn’t happen often and certainly wasn’t frustrating enough to make me stop playing.
Where this game really shines is characterization. I think the characters are some of the most vivid and three-dimensional I have ever seen in the IF I’ve played. While playing, I felt as though I were watching a movie. I think there was the right blend of story and puzzles. Some games, such as those that have a lot of conversation, feel like I’m reading a book and am just there to press the right buttons and turn pages. I feel like I should just read a book. I’d get more story at one time. Babel gave a sense of purpose interspersed with cut scenes that gradually fleshed out a dramatic and tragic tale. (Spoiler - click to show)Admittedly, the calendar felt contrived, but I can forgive that since it was useful for the overall story. All the characters had good and bad traits; everyone was culpable for what happens in the story. It’s not like you can say one person was the mastermind and everyone else just went along. Setting was well done; there was definitely a sense of isolation and a quiet, creeping horror that doesn’t overdo it on the overt graphic images. I came away feeling just as I did last time - horrified but in a satisfied way. The ending felt fair, right, with just the right amount of pain to add an emotional component. Think of Anakin Skywalker and his subsequent failure, and you have Babel.