Review for Gene Rain. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 17/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 20/09/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 24/07/2018
Developed and distributed by the Chinese Deeli Network, Gene Rain is an indie title that represents the arrival point, and probably also the starting point, of a studio active since 2015. Talking about Gene Rain should therefore represent a good moment for the whole video game world, thanks to the inclusion of a new reality within the now wide indie panorama.
Unfortunately, the premises are not always maintained, especially when you are faced with a product that, without using simple euphemisms, turns out to be an attempt to clone a very famous AAA title for all Microsoft gamers: I am obviously referring to the Gears of War series. . Will the Chinese skill and dedication in the enterprise to achieve perfection in its copy, as it happens for totally different areas such as fashion, for example?
Chemical attack
Going into the dystopian future of Gene Rain, the feeling is immediately that of a déjà-vu but based on the official plot it is clear that the plot of the title is more original than what cut-scenes and gameplay might suggest. We are in the year 2089 and a chemical agent, capable of altering the genetic structure of man, is released into the air: the lucky ones see their genes change while a large part of the population perishes in a short time.
The events that we are going to cover in the title are placed at the very beginning of this "rain of geniuses" where the Death Squad, a special team made up of humans and robots, tries to stop this madness and restore order. Who launched the chemical agent and for what reason? All questions that are not easily answered in the various dialogues between the characters and in the cut-scenes.
After all, Gene Rain begins in a really confusing way and, at first glance, it seems to be a classic invasion by sleeping alien entities. Fortunately, going forward in the title you can better understand the plot conceived by Deeli Network even if, in general, the narrative component remains very inconsistent. What is clear from the start is instead our task as members of the Death Squad: we will have to stop the threat of the rain of genes by destroying the "fearsome" wind turbines.
Undoubtedly, enthusiasts of renewable energy could turn up their noses in the face of this mess. Our goal, however, is worthy of this sacrifice and to achieve it we will make our way with all the means at our disposal between tight firefights against very unintelligent enemies.
Gene of Wars
Right from the start, with a pointing, charging and coverage system, the gameplay will remember the Gears series but without adding anything new and original. Everything will be very deficient and unstable, with moments of sufficient playability that will alternate with moments of frustration due to ineffective and efficient controls.
An example above all: crouching behind a cover and moving from it will be decidedly uncomfortable and not very reactive, moreover the shelter will not guarantee the complete safety of our health as, depending on the enemies, we will continue to suffer damage in part.
The Gene Rain campaign is divided into 4 game areas in which we will use different protagonists of the story and, given the lack of the multiplayer component, it should be the flagship of the entire production. Again with too linear gameplay - opening door or gate, exploring area, facing horde of enemies, new zone, new horde and so on - and a chaotic storyline, Gene Rain doesn't satisfy.
Without bugs and poor response to commands, the title would be completed in a poor hour of play, however the defects manage to lengthen a game experience that ends with a boss fight that is not at all epic that ends with the credits in which is revealed the arrival of a sequel. Gene Rain is not a complete game, is closer to a demo or a first chapter of a title that is still work in progress, as the ending suggests.
Appearances are deceiving ...
There is, however, a component of Chinese production that is close to sufficiency and that of the graphics sector. Gene Rain enjoys a good overall visual rendering, although there are fluctuating levels of quality in the textures, especially of the backdrops, which clash with the good work done on almost all the characters and enemies. This first satisfaction is unfortunately not total, the frequent drops in frame rate together with a series of inadequate effects do not guarantee the desired recognition to the graphics sector.
Not even the audio component can lift a frustrating and disappointing gaming experience. A non-existent soundtrack and poor voice acting fail to give a touch of epicness to the tight firefights in which the fun will be guaranteed exclusively by the ridiculous actions of a deficient AI. In this case, we just save the sound effects with a decent rendering of shots and explosions, even if limited in number and not very varied.
Gene Rain is a missed opportunity, a job started three years ago that probably won't bear the hoped-for results. At present we can only trust in the next chapters of the title and in its future VR version, to have a minimum of hope that the title can improve. This is because at present Gene Rain is an incomplete game even taking into account any limitations that an indie title may encounter in development. There are too many shortcomings to be able to consider it a Sci-Fi title at least passable and this is because what we have had in our hands and tried is not an acceptable game arrived in the second half of 2018.
► Gene Rain is an Adventure-Indie-Shooter game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 17/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 20/09/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 24/07/2018
