Survival horror is a grand old genre of gaming, spanning multiple decades, with plenty of revisions of the formula, a near-death experience in the late 2000s and a great revival with the likes of RE2 Remake and Tormented Souls. There are plenty of games which take influence from the very early days of the genre, often regarded as the Golden Age of survival horror (the late 90s), but many forget there were absolute gems in the early 2000s as well. Broken Pieces is a title which feels very akin to this era, where tank controls were long gone, and new concepts and dynamics were being played around with. But does Broken Pieces have what it takes to stand with the high and mighty return of the genre?
What is Broken Pieces? 
Imagine waking up in a beautiful coastal town in the South of France, with tranquil landscapes, a warm atmosphere and outstanding beauty around every corner … but you have murderous ghosts to deal with!
Broken Pieces is a paranormal and psychological thriller, created by a team consisting mostly of 5 people and the debut title of the French studio Elsewhere Experience. We play as Elise who with her fiancé venture to the French coast to start a new life away from the urban chaos. Everything seems great and the pair make a fresh start in a beautiful region by the coast. However, the town is hiding an unspeakable and vile secret which could see the end of days.
When we first meet Elise, she is alone, running low on resources and apparently trapped within the town due to a strange and sinister force. The townspeople are all gone including her fiancé, who she vows to find no matter the cost. Yet, each day presents a new challenge, and it doesn’t help she is antagonised by an evil presence that appears set to only harm her. Elise’s goal is to investigate the town and unravel the mystery of the shadowy figures, the missing townspeople and a mysterious lighthouse which might have disturbing occult connections.
Time is a massive factor in Broken Pieces, as Elise will only have a set amount of time during the day to venture out in reasonable safety. After 8 pm, when the sun goes down, the darkness will engulf the town and the ghostly figures will thrive in numbers. The game uses real-time and partaking in a number of activities will diminish it even more quickly. Manage time well, and survive for as long as possible to find the truth. But Elisa also has a strange power, that will come in handy to bypass various obstacles in her path.
A story of Time, the Occult, and Weather? 
The journey begins on a rather mysterious note, with Elisa waking up right at the heart of the paranormal event, trying to restore balance and making her way to a mysterious lighthouse. She gathers her bits, including her trusty cassette player (which plays a vital role in the story) and makes her way to the lighthouse. Time is not on her side, and the core mechanic for Broken Pieces is time management, an interesting dynamic which differs from the rest of the genre.
Broken Pieces presents an engaging mystery right from the get-go, with Elise having to navigate safely through the village of Saint-Exil following the strange paranormal incident. Investigating the village, gathering clues and heading to key locations is what will save Elisa and possibly the people of the town.
The backstory of Saint-Exil is quite a fascinating one, involving a violent military presence and a past with occult origins. Everything in the story is typically conveyed through that classic method in survival horror games, in various documents and in a multitude of voice recordings. Elisa has her trusty cassette player at hand to listen to various notes she has recorded and those left by cult members and other individuals. These are quite frequent and easy to find for the most part and offer an insight into a great, unravelling mystery.
It’s a novel way to tell the story, even if some of the tape messages are quite long and get interrupted when you interact with an item in the environment. This makes it easy to miss key details and overall, it can be slightly infuriating as you be dumped with half a dozen recordings from time to time, meaning you have to sit and listen for a long duration. I did overall enjoy this method of storytelling, and there are some neat environmental elements which expand the plot further.
Yet the story did indeed keep my interest until the end, which has a good payoff. Learning more about the village, what the strange cult was doing, and why the military was called out developed a fascinating and captivating mystery. The unravelling is paced well, and while the delivery of the narrative through multiple tape recordings is somewhat clunky, there is a vast amount of gravitas in the delivery with the voice work being exceptional.
Your greatest enemy is Time 
The most unique dynamic Broken Pieces has to offer is time management, where progressing through areas, general exploration and engaging in certain tasks will consume that time from the day. It’s vital to make sure you explore the town, gather the clues and make it home while the sun is out, otherwise, you’re going to have a bad time at night. Once the sun is gone, the town is engulfed by a thick fog, and the enemy's presence is much higher, elevating the threat level immensely. In the fog, your vision is hindered significantly, and enemies are more hidden.
Travelling to the next section of the village or sitting on a bench to save your progress will reduce the safety you have against the hordes which come out at night time. You can still explore during the night, but this is more cumbersome and tedious than it's worth. The night-time threat is a neat idea and for the first couple of hours, it really does elevate the tension as the sun slowly and the darkness sets upon the village. But the intensity of enemies and the limited vision really do make it more infuriating to navigate than exciting. When I did get caught out in the night, I would just feel confused as the village is surprisingly large and broken up into multiple areas.
As you progress, making your way home becomes even more dangerous and you will eventually get caught out during the night. It doesn’t ruin the game’s flow or engagement overall, but it could have been tweaked better to be more intimidating yet balanced rather than tedious and mildly annoying.
But the concept of time management is interesting but feels better handled in a game like the original Dead Rising, where time was a massive factor in multiple aspects of the environment and progression.
However, what makes up for these minor shortcomings is the village of Saint-Exil itself and the sense of discovery when you venture out during the day. If you’re a fan of key hunting, piecing together key items and puzzles, then Broken Pieces will not disappoint you. I did vastly enjoy exploration through this lonely world, as there felt to be a considerable amount to discover, a new discovery always gave me a sense of awe. Considering the time management factor, I actually felt bummed out thinking I needed to head back to safety, or risk dealing with the night-time mayhem. It does work well and gave a true sense of progression as I would venture out further and risk being caught out at night-time because I got immersed in exploring the village.
There is a good deal of puzzle solving to do which harbour back to the Golden Age of survival horror, with plenty of variety, and a good sense of complexity and challenge, making them one of the best aspects of the game. And there is another, with the changing weather mechanic, adding a simple, yet immersive dynamic to exploration. Elisa can change and shift the village into a state where there is a treacherous thunderstorm, thus allowing certain elements in the environment to be moved or destroyed, such as a tree being pushed over to create a makeshift bridge to cross.
It is a simple, yet neat dynamic which changes multiple aspects of the environment, adding a layer of density to exploration and does become a clever aspect of the lateral side of things.
Fighting shadows with bullets 
While investigating, puzzle solving and item gathering are key components, Elisa will also have to duke it out with a fair share of ghostly deviants from time to time.
Combat encounters are randomised and could occur at any moment when Elisa enters a new area or backtracks. When she is engaged in a brutal showdown the area locks off and the ghostly enemies appear out of the blue. Elisa must take out all enemies to advance and combat is a must as you cannot flee from any encounters. The novelty of combat lies with the fixed camera, with a conflict between precision and safety. Players will take aim at enemies, and the longer they aim, the more accurate and damaging the shot will be from their firearm.
With a single enemy, it’s not a big issue, but with multiple enemies, it can lead to some serious drama, as you balance moving, evading attacks, and judging your shots carefully. It’s intense at times and there is usually very little breathing space in combat arenas. There is a slight advantage to players depending on how well they manage the multiple ammo types, as you have unlimited standard and high-grade ammo, with high-grade dealing more damage yet being limited throughout the world. It does take the edge off knowing you’ll never run out of standard ammo, but in the late game, it's vital to have some high-grade spare or those ghosts will surely give you a hard time.
But thankfully you have another method of defence with Elisa’s trusty amulet, which can push back enemies, allowing you to aim and take the shots you need. This became a vital component of Elisa’s survival and made fights a little more manageable. But its use is limited throughout the day, giving a tactical advantage in combat yet another resource component to consider which was quite engaging.
Broken Pieces combat can get a little repetitive, but it's handled well enough and offers plenty of tension and stress. The ghosts are a genuine threat and with the mix of precision aiming, the pushback amulet and various environmental elements, it can be enjoyable for the most part. But not as fun as the exploration and lateral elements.
Overall? Broken Pieces is an admirable game, even if it does feel a little unrefined in some areas, there are some great components which make it worth checking out. Exploring the village, the mystery behind the village/cult and lateral elements are all highly exceptional, and while the time management could have been developed more, it is a fantastic concept and executed confidently enough. I wish more games would make use of this mechanic and I praise the developers for adding it in regardless. Broken Pieces is worth checking out, especially for fans of survival horror games and for those looking for something a little different from the norm.
++ Some neat storytelling dynamics and a great mystery to unravel
+ The environment is engaging and fun to explore
+ Lots of cool puzzles and neat dynamics
-- Time management could have been fleshed out more
- Basic combat is a little tedious and repetitive
- Some aspects of the storytelling feel clunky
The publisher provided an Xbox Series X/S key of Broken Pieces for the purpose of this review.
