I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical about Enslaved: Odyssey To The West when it was first announced. I mean, I enjoyed what little I’d played of Heavenly Sword and all, and it’s not that I doubted Ninja Theory’s ability to make a great game… it’s just that it seemed so far off. Then I played the demo and suddenly (like most people, I’m sure) I became very, very interested indeed.

Of course, we all know that a demo isn’t always indicative of the final product. Sometimes they’re great, but the full game falls prey to various issues along the way that turn it into a big pile of yuck. Other games (i.e. Dead Space) are great, but have absolutely crappy demos that make you think the devs would have done better to just avoid releasing one entirely. So the real question is just how well does the demo represent the finished product? Is Enslaved every bit as epic and enjoyable as that first chapter, or does it peter out after a strong start?

From the very beginning, it’s obvious that you’re in for one hell of a ride. Ninja Theory doesn’t waste any time, getting your blood pumping with some tried-and-true spectacle. From Monkey’s first steps outside of his containment pod to his impromptu ride off of the doomed slaver ship, it’s one big, explosion-filled thrill ride with one hell of a rough stop at the end. And that’s only Chapter One. After Monkey regains consciousness and finds himself forced into service by Trip, a resourceful fellow escapee with a lot of technical prowess and virtually no combat experience, the real adventure begins. This daring (and harrowing) escape during the first chapter most certainly isn’t the last “big moment” you’ll experience throughout the eight-to-ten hour story, but you also won’t be bombarded with the video game equivalent of virtually every scene from Die Hard, every five minutes. Personally, I see that as a good thing.

It’s pretty obvious early on that the world of Enslaved is a rough place to be. Civilization has all but disappeared, with small groups of nomadic tribes and a few scattered villages as the only sustained pockets of humanity left. If that’s not enough, slaver mechs working for the mysterious Pyramid organization have been prowling the wastelands, gathering up any remaining people they can find for an unknown purpose. Although, “wastelands” may be a bit too harsh a term. In this instance, there was no nuclear holocaust, leaving nature plenty of leeway to take back what it once had. It all makes for some incredible environments, with the husks of old buildings covered with various roots and foliage. I have to say, as someone who currently lives in New York, it’s simultaneously beautiful and somewhat haunting to see so many landmarks reduced to such a state.

Enslaved is the sort of game that should be used as an example for other games in the future. It’s not without its flaws, certainly (more on those later), but it absolutely nails the pacing. Throughout each of the game’s opening chapters you’re introduced to new abilities. For example: at the start of Chapter Two, Monkey finds a slave headband stuck on his head which forces him to follow Trip’s commands, as well as tying their lives together. If Trip gets killed for any reason, Monkey’s headband will see to it that he shares her fate. A rough deal to be sure, but the headband also augments Monkey’s perception of reality, since it’s hot-wired directly into his brain. Basically, it gives you a reason within the story to have a HUD, waypoint markers and more.

This progression is both constant and steady. After you acquire your headband, you’ll find out you can grab Trip and toss her up to higher ledges for various puzzle-solving purposes. Once you get used to Trip’s dragonfly scanning (it’ll make sense, trust me), you learn how to distract ranged mechs to give you a few seconds to bolt from cover to cover. The fact that your general character progression is tied to the story goes a long way towards preventing things from ever feeling stale or tiresome. And once there’s nothing new for your character to learn, you’ll find yourself tossed into a diverse set of situations to keep things fresh. Again, Ninja Theory knows their shit.

They also know to tell a great story. Monkey and Trip’s journey will take them from the overgrown ruins of a long-dead metropolis to sprawling mountain ranges and beyond. Each new environment plays host to some breathtaking vistas, as well as many hidden dangers. And through it all you’ll watch the relationship between this unlikely pair evolve in a steady, natural way. But it’s not all about superb voice acting, an excellent script and great direction. Actually, what really pushes Enslaved beyond a mere “video game narrative” are all the little things. Small details like a down-turned gaze and a quick shake of the head during an uncomfortable conversation or the subtle indications as to the nature of humanity’s downfall. There are even some nifty touches to the gameplay: such as Monkey’s brutish (and impressive) mech take-downs, sometimes yielding a final slow-motion shot of him pulverizing the target, his face full of primal fury. These elements all come together beautifully and go a long way to making the characters identifiable, the combat a thrill and the story engrossing.

Sure, the story is all well and good, but video games also need to play well, in addition to telling a great tale. Enslaved doesn’t falter in this area, either. Platforming is relatively automatic, requiring you to simply point Monkey in the direction he needs to jump and hitting a button. This is something that may make some people cringe, but I found it to be a great decision as it gives you a chance to see the kind of things you don’t normally look for in games of this type. Namely taking in the jaw-dropping environments, looking for hidden paths or even just admiring the strikingly detailed animations as Monkey nimbly makes his way towards his newest goal. The platforming segments do have some hazards, such as crumbling handholds and (in the later chapters) some environmental hazards to carefully make your way past, but it’s fairly apparent that the climbing and jumping was meant to be more of a flashy means of locomotion than any real challenge. Again, this is good thing.

And then there’s the combat. While some may find Monkey’s fighting style lacking in depth, with two attack buttons and only one real combo, I see it as something else entirely: an action-oriented puzzle. You see, in many cases you’ll be able to get the drop on the mechs. This allows you a chance to pick the best strategic point to attack, as opposed to simply jumping in swinging away. Sure, you can just go charging blindly in to every fight, but it’s much more satisfying (and effective) to, say, climb across a series of handholds in order to take a gun-armed mech by surprise, then rip its arm off and use it to mow down every other hostile in the area before they can touch you. There are also plenty of fights that allow you to strategize on-the-fly, using a weakened combat mech as a bomb or getting a pissed off demolition mech to charge at you through a mob of smaller mechs. It’s really less about how many commands you have to input while you fight and more about how you actually fight.

The one issue I found with the combat is the lack of enemy variety. In all there are only a handful of different mechs to lay waste to, but that’s just me being picky. In practice, however, the limited selection works quite well due to, once again, the excellent pacing. You won’t always be fighting them, and when you do it won’t be dozens at a time. They’re much smaller and more controlled skirmishes, with an emphasis placed on the mixture and ratio of enemy types. And with the exception of one particular fight, which boiled down to “stun, pummel, stun, pummel, stun, etc…,” the bosses were varied and fun. There are a few other hiccups along the way: such as off-sync lip movement during a few cutscenes, the occasional character model appearing a foot or two off the ground and a few random moments of sound effects cutting out. But aside from these issues, it’s a solid and enjoyable affair

Enslaved is bound to have its share of detractors. Every game does. But for my money, it just doesn’t get much better than this. Ninja Theory has done one hell of a job merging a great story with a great game, full of memorable places, characters and moments. After beating the game on Normal I was compelled to play through again on Hard. Not simply for the trophies, but for the need to explore every chapter’s nooks and crannies for hidden items. For the joy of ripping ancient war machines apart with my bare hands. And for the desire to see Monkey and Trip’s journey all the way through once more.

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Things We Liked: Beautifully realized… well, everything. Some of the best voice and physical acting in the business. The brutal cinematic touches during fights. Just enough hidden upgrade orbs and other *spoiler-free* collectibles to appease us exploration junkies. No cheap jumping deaths. Again, one hell of a story.

Things We Disliked: A few random audio and visual glitches during cutscenes, almost never in the same place twice. One fairly lackluster boss fight. Spotting the occasional super low-res texture while taking in the scenery. No word yet on a sequel/followup.

Target Audience: People who liked what they played when they tried out the demo. Adventure fans as well as those who can appreciate a good story. Anyone who thinks a combination of Uncharted 2 and Sands of Time set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with deadly robots sounds intriguing.

(Enslaved: Odyssey To The West – Developers: Ninja Theory. Publisher: Namco Bandai. Available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — PS3 version reviewed. Unfamiliar with CFD!’s review system? Read our newly revised explanation here.)