REVIEW

Manual Samuel Review

by Joshua Rawlings, October 16th, 2016

With the plethora of indie games that are out there, it’s hard for one to stand out and be unique. Perfectly Paranormal’s Manual Samuel tries to break free from “original” convention with its quirky design and heavy comedic influence. Mixing a short-yet-fun narrative with distinctive mechanics makes this eccentric title feel polished, although it is lacking in the content department.

Influenced by many games, more notably The Stanley Parable due to the narrator’s knack for punchlines and slapstick humour, Manual Samuel delivers a fun experience that is certainly not for the faint hearted. Tough and challenging are a few adjectives that come into mind. The game instantly throws you in the deep end, trying to get you used to the many mechanics that you’ll be using throughout the game such as manual breathing and blinking. Yes, that’s right, you need to blink yourself manually, it is the title of the game after all.

Segments of the game require a lot of attention and can be quite rewarding. I recall one moment where you have to rush through multiple doorways whilst holding a highly toxic substance, and the doorways close after a certain amount of time and you’re expected to do all of this manually whilst still blinking and breathing so yeah, it’s tough. You need initiative for these parts, interact with the environment and think outside of the box to progress. Oh, and don’t forget to breathe. The game encourages combination as often you will find yourself performing multiple actions at once and with that, failing. This is what adds that tough edge to it, keeping you on your toes and not easily skating through the sequences.

Along with the more relaxing parts, battle sequences are frequent towards the middle section of the game. These can be quite daunting and you will need to combine and use the knowledge you’ve gained since the start, so pay attention to those tutorials and take it all in. There are three main types of weapon which are rockets, machine guns and swords. Along with this, you can defend yourself with your shield which has limited advantages and needs to be used tactically or you’ll literally get pushed out of the fight. There’s also a more unconventional defense method, the Grim Reaper. I’ll let you figure that last one out yourself. The battle sequences offer a nice break from the more tranquil parts of the game as you smash through the streets in a robot-suit, destroying other robots. Not that the more serene parts are bad for that matter, it just mixes up the batch and adheres to different playstyles. Besides, who doesn’t like a bit of action to liven things up.

The narrative is zany to say the least. It’s very focused around humour, sometimes dark humour at that. The demolition of a children’s orphanage along with the mass murder of civilians with a shotgun are a few scenarios that spring to mind. This does however combine with the art style really well. As it’s animated, the cartoon-esque design allows for more outrageous behaviour and extends the boundaries to make it the light-hearted slapstick tale that it is. The story is propelled by the narrator whom is voiced extremely well, as are many of the other characters. Dynamic events which are created by the player are cleverly narrated, so you may hear different lines when doing multiple play-throughs. I often found myself giggling like a schoolgirl when one of the many jokes are cracked at Samuel’s expense.

The characters are all well-crafted apart from a few who don’t really have much screen-time, such as Samuel’s father and War, the Grim Reaper’s envious crush who I think should have played a more pivotal role than what’s present. The main protagonist, Samuel, has very few speaking lines and this does somewhat hinder the character development and progression although you still feel a small sense of it. The other main character is Death, literally. The hipster version of the Grim Reaper will be your best friend, even though he’s technically there to ensure your damnation to hell for eternity.

The tutorials are well-combined into the gameplay and don’t hold your hand one bit, you will be expected to automatically adjust to the manual controls or face tedious spouts of suffocation and tripping over your own feet. Lengthwise, the game isn’t very long as I hinted to previously. I managed to complete it within roughly two hours which did surprise me a bit and raises some concerns regarding value for money. The setting spans over a full 24-hour day with transitions to night time. You’ll also be visiting hell a few times, too so don’t forget to wrap up. Various locations are visited throughout the game and you do go back and forth at times to re-visit certain characters. This adds an extra excuse to explore as you can go back and look around to see things you may not have the first time around.

Along with the main campaign mode there is time attack mode. This is the main mode but with a time limit which if completed under the specified time, rewards you with the appropriate accolade. These are fun to try out and test if you have finally gripped the mechanics and can function like a manual human being, which trust me is a lot harder than it sounds.

The mundane storyline combined with the funny mechanics make Manual Samuel a game worth trying out, even though it is disappointingly short. The sheer unique qualities alone make it worth your time as there are lots of laughs to be had thanks to the humorous narration and idiosyncratic gameplay.