P.A.M.E.L.A Review

P.A.M.E.L.A developed by NVYVE Studio’s is a first-person, survival horror, role playing game that is now available on PC.

P.A.M.E.L.A takes place on a utopia called Eden in the future where people lived the best and most peaceful life they possibly could until a vaccine went wrong and turned everyone into mindless zombie-like creatures with one objective, to kill you. The story is really interesting, seeing the environments around you and picturing the once beautiful haven now littered in the innocent victims of the plague that has destroyed many lives. You wake up with P.A.M.E.L.A an AI that runs Eden explaining how you’re the only hope in finding a cure to the infection and she will guide you on your way. I found the plot interesting because around Eden were many notes, diaries and logs to fill you in on the victims last moments and it also taught you a bit about Eden before the incident. The game hooks you in with its narrative and doesn’t hold back on the horror. If you’re looking for a disaster, apocalypse styled story-line, this one is good.

The gameplay can be described as a blend between the famous System Shock 2 and We Happy Few’s survival elements. You’ll search the environments for materials to craft new gear and upgrades to make your character stronger against the infected, new weapons, power-ups, buffs, augments and more. P.A.M.E.L.A is a game that encourages you to get better as you go and trust me, you’ll die a few times while learning the systems. I thought the survival systems were interesting, with some the thirst and hunger meter go down way to quick but with this one, it always felt like something you didn’t have to keep an eye on to often, P.A.M.E.L.A is a game that lets you enjoy all aspects of its RPG systems, Sci-Fi and horror mixes without making anything a chore. I enjoyed the depth of the systems and while it took time to learn I thought it was interesting, especially the combat system with attaching the weapons to yourself and getting to play around with combinations to suit your style. You’ll also learn new skills along the way like hacking your way into hidden rooms for extra special loot, you’ll upgrade a levelling tree to expand your skillset further and make it even easier for you in the long run. The game has a ton of different and interesting ways of tackling it. It reminds me of Bioshock as-well, that kind of freedom and experimentation. At times the game can feel difficult when going into the next area but I feel the point with this game is you must try and try again until you’ve found the way you want to take it. It’s not a run and gun style game, you have to be careful, you run into a group of infected you’ll most likely have trouble if you aren’t prepared.

P.A.M.E.L.A’s infected are horrifying, you’ll find some of them frozen like statues in dark hallways only lit by the haze of neon lights and you’ll wonder if perhaps one is going to jump out on you or not. It’s a game that is fantastic and conveying the creepiness in its design. Sadly though P.A.M.E.L.A does have its issues. I came across a few bugs where my weapon wouldn’t work, a few FPS slowdowns here and there, the game would crash every-time I quit, sound issues where they’d stack upon each other and suddenly you’d be deafened by the bloody curdling screams of the infected and more. P.A.M.E.L.A is such a good concept and I feel the design is quite amazing but I feel there is quite a bit of polish that needs doing to bring the game up. I have to hand it to the developers the design of this game in the Unity Engine is phenomenal, the exploration is beyond rewarding purely due to Edens infrastructure, level design and more, this is one of those games that was a pure joy to explore. Some of the animations are slightly stiff looking but the facts are that this game world that they have created is one hundred per cent worth checking out.

Verdict

I believe P.A.M.E.L.A is slightly rough round the edges with a few bugs here and there but overall the game is £13, I believe that the price is well worth it. If you enjoyed System Shock, or you like survival with Sci-Fi horror this should be right up your alley.

7/10