Blacksad Under The Skin Review (PlayStation 5)
Blacksad Under The Skin Review, The 50s, New York City: Joe Dunn, owner of a boxing club, is found dead. Meanwhile, rising star Bobby Yale, due to take to the ring for the most important fight of his career, has mysteriously disappeared. Sonia Dunn, Joe’s daughter, takes over the gym and must deal with its financial woes. She hires private detective John Blacksad to investigate Yale’s disappearance. This sinister case will take our investigator to the darkest, most dismal depths of New York.
Blacksad Under The Skin Review Pros:
- Decent graphics.
- 13.73GB download size.
- Platinum trophy.
- Controller settings – sensitivity sliders, vibration, and deadzone sliders.
- Interactive detective story gameplay.
- Tutorial tips option.
- In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
- Good voice work.
- All character interactions involve asking questions and choosing answers, some will have a time limit, and some you can just say quiet.
- When working on a case you can check your character’s behavioral stats that change based on your actions and actions during the case. These are things like how sensitive you are, whether you are flirty, do you talk too much or not enough, and most importantly how your earned money percentages work out.
- QTE (quick time events) happen a lot and can be a directional input or mashing buttons.
- You get notification pop-ups when a story-changing event or choice happens and/or happens. every playthrough will be different.
- You get inner monologues to help with decisions or how you want your character to be.
- A lot of replay value.
- Branching storylines.
- Your notes update in real time and you see them at the top of the screen.
- Optional inputs can be done in fights where you can grab at objects or something.
- The whole game plays out in 3D with the right stick being used to move the crime scene view around a little and zoom in.
- You can examine locations and items.
- Easy enough to learn.
- You do get to walk around and play in the world.
- Hot spots show what can and where it can be examined.
- Your notebook keeps a record of everyone you have encountered and any facts or tidbits you learn about them.
- Deductions are a lot like a mind palace, you go into this Web of clues, alibis, and evidence to piece together what happened. You can bring this up at any moment.
- Seamless transition between cutscene and gameplay.
- Fantastic stories and cases, a lot of memorable characters and sequences.
- You can go into the load menu and reload a checkpoint or a particular scene to try out different paths.
Blacksad Under The Skin Review Cons:
- Long initial load time.
- Entering and exiting the options menu is slow.
- Actually the loading times across the board are not great.
- Cannot remap controls.
- Slow pace to it all.
- No accessibility options for all the QTE and reaction sequences.
- Doesn’t give warnings of an upcoming event or anything.
- Cannot save when you want.
- The tutorial pop-ups are fine but they split the screen and are very sluggish.
- Performance dips at random intervals.
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Blacksad Under The Skin:
Developer: Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive
Publisher: Microids
Store Links –
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8/10
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8/10
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8/10
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8/10
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8/10
Summary
Blacksad: Under The Skin offers a visually appealing experience with decent graphics and a manageable download size of 13.73GB. The game features an interactive detective story gameplay, enhanced by good voice work and in-game cutscenes that seamlessly transition into gameplay. Players can enjoy a variety of controller settings, including sensitivity sliders, vibration, and deadzone adjustments, which add to the immersive experience. The game also includes tutorial tips and inner monologues to help with decision-making, contributing to its replay value and branching storylines.
Character interactions are a significant part of the game, involving asking questions and choosing answers, some of which are timed. Players can check their character’s behavioral stats, which change based on their actions, adding depth to the gameplay. Quick Time Events (QTEs) are frequent and can involve directional inputs or button mashing, though the lack of accessibility options for these sequences can be a drawback. Notifications pop up when story-changing events occur, ensuring that every playthrough is unique.
Despite its strengths, “Blacksad: Under The Skin” has several drawbacks. The game suffers from long initial load times and slow performance when entering and exiting the options menu. Loading times across the board are not great, and players cannot remap controls. The slow pace and lack of warnings for upcoming events can be frustrating, and the inability to save at will adds to the inconvenience. Tutorial pop-ups, while helpful, are sluggish and split the screen, and performance dips at random intervals can disrupt the experience.
Overall, Blacksad: Under The Skin is a game with fantastic stories and memorable characters, offering a lot of replay value through its branching storylines and interactive detective gameplay. However, its technical issues and lack of accessibility options may detract from the overall experience for some players.