Title: She Sees Red – Interactive Movie
Developer: Rhinotales
Publisher: Rhinotales
Released: July 11, 2019
Platforms Available: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC Game, Mac Game,
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Article Reading Time: 5 minutes
New Contender: Studio Rhinotales’ Debut
Studio Rhinotales was, until this time, unknown in the video game industry. Their game She Sees Red is their first venture in the form of an interactive thriller that takes place as a short film in which you, as the audience, have the opportunity to decide what the protagonist does immediately caught our attention, even in defiance of the growing competition in the field of this genre in recent years. Still, we will tell in our new review whether She Sees Red has really made its name alongside, for example, the now-famous Wales Interactive Entertainment. But let’s start from the beginning…
A Night at the Club: Dual Story Unfolds
You’ll find yourself in a nightclub where two storylines play out simultaneously. In one, you’re an unknown man in a baseball cap and hoodie. In the other, you’re a police investigator called in by the club owner to find out who killed one of his guards. During the scenes with the cloaked protagonist, two options pop up here and there, one of which you must click to move the story along. The trailer suggests you can get up to four different endings, accessible at all, as it takes half an hour to run through the entire plot. Story-wise, it’s a coherent affair, but you won’t get that at first, and as the credits roll, you’ll have far more questions than answers. You’re just about to get those from replaying and choosing options you didn’t choose before. By making it such a short affair, you won’t even have to wade through tons of tedium and grey. Some choices reveal interesting additional scenes that make you understand the story much better.
Decision Time: Interactive Elements and Pacing
You only have a few seconds to make your choices, which is a negative from the perspective of wanting to enjoy those parts as a movie and lean back or scratch a few potatoes. But then again, you won’t have to get up as many times throughout the plot, and a couple of times, it’s also clear that some decisions are coming, so you’ll have time to clean your hands.
Performance on a Budget: Acting and Audio
As for the acting, you can tell this is a low-budget project, but it’s nothing that isn’t watchable. It’s worse with the listening. The original version is only possible to listen to. It completely ruins the experience, as Rhinotales didn’t get any quality translators or proofreaders to edit the dialogue into a neat form. Fortunately, the subtitles are also in Czech, so no one will have a problem with the original Russian, and you might learn something else. The choreography of the fights and the transitions between plot lines are excellent. I can’t rate the detailed film aspects because I don’t understand them and wouldn’t want to pose as a film critic.
Final Take: Short but Sweet Thriller Experience
In conclusion, She Sees Red, the debut game from Studio Rhinotales, presents an intriguing interactive thriller experience with parallel storylines and multiple endings, all within a short half-hour playthrough. The game’s concise nature allows for quick replays to explore different choices and uncover additional scenes. However, the limited time for decision-making may detract from the enjoyment of the storytelling. While the acting and audio quality could be improved, the choreography of the fights and transitions between plot lines are commendable. Despite some language-related issues, She Sees Red offers a unique and engaging experience that differentiates it in the video game industry. It will be interesting to see how it compares to established titles in the interactive thriller genre in the upcoming reviews. But at this very point, we recommend it.
Where to Buy She Sees Red
- Steam (PC, Mac): Available for $7.99. You can purchase the game directly from Steam
- PlayStation Store (PS4): The game is priced at $9.99 . You can find it on the PlayStation Store
- GOG (PC, Mac): She Sees Red is available on GOG. Check it out on GOG.com
- Nintendo eShop (Switch): Available for $9.99. You can buy it from the Nintendo eShop
- App Store (iOS): Available for $0.99. You can find it on the App Store
