Loading Human: Chapter 1

Sometimes in storytelling, you can have all the right elements for a fantastic piece of compelling drama but still see the whole thing fall apart in execution. It might be the subpar delivery of an important line. It might be the erratic pacing of the overall theme. It might even be the stray plot thread or two left dangling for the audience to get tangled up in. Loading Human: Chapter 1 is a perfect example of this. If you look really hard and squint your eyes a bit, you can see the beginnings of what should be an interesting and intense interactive adventure. The problem is, the game is weighed down by mediocrity before anything really good gets a chance to develop.

In a character-driven narrative, it's kind of important to make sure that the audience is given someone to care about. In Loading Human: Chapter 1, you're never given much reason to relate to or bond with any of the few characters you deal with. It's never a good sign when the AI character has more personality than the actual human beings. It doesn't help that the game's story plods along at a snail's pace. Moving through the virtual environment feels like moving through virtual molasses, a problem made worse by the game's less-than-responsive controls. While solving puzzles during review, more than once it was necessary to physically step away before letting the imprecise movements further ruin the experience. Oddly, though, it feels like, if the movements and controls were improved, the player would finish the game too quickly. There's nothing in Loading Human: Chapter 1 that can't be fixed in later chapters, but this first act is supposed to convince players to come back for more. Instead, it feels like little more than a glorified, drawn-out, and expensive demo.