Liberated (2020)

Liberated: Enhanced Edition is to be commended for trying to do something a bit different. It’s just a shame that the gameplay here isn’t a little deeper and more polished. But ultimately, it’s not really the focus of the experience: that’s the story. If you’re a sucker for tales that draw you into dark, dystopian worlds, chances are you’ll still get a considerable amount of enjoyment out of it.

To tell such a cohesive and well-thought-out tale across several perspectives in just four chapters was impressive. With the enhanced edition, two more chapters have been added, but not necessarily to end the narrative. It was more of an additional segment to further iterate the story that was already told. The entire game including the extra chapters can be knocked out in sitting of fewer than 4 hours, which makes repeat sittings to explore alternate choices much more manageable. It was a game that did not overstay its welcome while still delivering an immersive experience that didn’t feel too short either.

Liberated: Enhanced Edition fails to deliver on a promising premise. At its core, the game tells an interesting story in an innovative manner, however, the gameplay sequences let it down. The gunplay is formulaic and lacks variety. Predictable enemy placement means that the game quickly becomes repetitive. While Atomic Wolf attempts to vary the gameplay with puzzles and QTEs, these are few and far between. With some technical issues thrown into the mix, this comic-inspired title has a few too many issues.

Liberated is a great comic book turned video game. Dark and dystopian, almost absurdly gorgeous visuals, and a compelling story make this a surprising, but welcome, entry in the Switch library. Although you can beat the game within a few hours, don’t let the short run-time turn you off. There’s a lot of game packed into that those few hours.

Great game but held back in animations and forced QTE sections