In this review we will analyze the PS5 version of The Pedestrian, a puzzle platform with a very strong personality, let’s find out all the details
Intuition: quick and acute ability of perception. Our review of the PS5 version of The Pedestrian will start with this short, simple but absolutely impactful definition . The word intuition is, in our opinion, perfectly fitting to start talking about this title. We are faced with a puzzle platform with a very strong style and personality, capable of keeping players glued to the screen for all its (short) duration.
A bit of history
The Pedestrian is a title released on January 29, 2020 for PC, also enjoying great interest from users. During a State of Play in the month of August (always 2020 of course), the availability of the game for Sony home consoles was announced through a particular and captivating trailer . A nice step forward for a studio like Skakoom Arts that gave birth to the game, showing really great potential. A strong and decisive concept that tries to give an extra and new nuance to a genre, that of puzzle platforms, which always requires innovation, ability and, to self-quote, intuition.
Having clarified this brief passage, we can continue with our review of The Pedestrian, underlining that we have received a preview version of the title that will be available on the PlayStation Store, both for PS4 and for PS5, starting from January 29, 2021 (exactly one year away. from the first publication on PC).
A Brilliant Idea – The Pedestrian PS5 Review
We opened this review of The Pedestrian for PS5 by talking about intuition. The guys from Skakoom Arts had an intuition, and a very brilliant one too! The concept behind the creation of this title is perhaps the element that most convinced us. Even just thinking of making a video game in these terms and with these ideas earns the software house our modest and little noisy applause, hoping that this idea will also be well supported by the community . In The Pedestrian we will find ourselves selecting a character, either male or female, who will go through and face a series of levels. So far nothing new.
The design itself, however, of the character manages to suggest to us what is the common thread that will accompany us for the duration of the game. We will have a stylized man (literally) that recalls in all respects the men drawn on the various road signs . Our task will be to overcome a series of levels “contained” in different panels, signs (road and other) and various small circuits, as well as traffic lights etc … All with the possibility of combining and connecting the various parts.
Platformer and Puzzle – The Pedestrian PS5 Review
Never as in this case, the images we will use to show you some game screens and even break our paragraphs a little, will come to our aid in the event that the descriptions of the various game elements are a bit confused. We also do not hide our difficulty in telling you about the visual components, and not only that, that the title presents. The platforming phases (all in 2D) are based on fairly classic canons. Classic canons but inserted in decidedly innovative contexts .
The signs and panels within which we will move will host small levels with bouncing platforms, elements to move to reach certain points and so on… classic platforming things in short! However, everything becomes more interesting, and even more complex, when these same panels need to be combined with each other.
The puzzle phases, in fact, offer very stimulating puzzles and whose repetition is not perceived. We will have to connect the various panels , through a simple point and click system (the PC game origin is felt here, even if it remains very enjoyable even pad in hand), creating the correct combination that will allow us to carry at the end of the level.
The mechanics are introduced with a proper cadence, giving the player different elements one bite at a time. We will have the opportunity to digest and assimilate that bite before moving on to the next . This is definitely a strength that avoids a possible sense of bewilderment and confusion. A mechanic, which will be introduced after about an hour of play, however, was slightly forced.
To explain it better: you will have the possibility to overlap some panels and, through a sort of portal , you will be able to move to the panels you have overlapped. While all the other mechanics marry perfectly with the puzzle concepts put in place, in our opinion, the implementation of this mechanic could be a bit forced and not very intuitive . By playing you will understand why.
Something is missing… – The Pedestrian PS5 review
When we find ourselves reviewing a title, in its PS5 version, made in exclusive times , compared to the versions for Microsoft and Nintendo consoles , which will arrive in the near future, we believe it is right to dedicate a few lines to implementations with the DualSense . Sony’s controller is, in our opinion, potentially the most interesting feature of this next gen. Making the most of it is therefore an “obligation” for developers who find themselves making a game also available for PlayStation 5. In the case of The Pedestrian this happens but to a minimal extent .
The haptic feedback is palpable but, in addition to this, we have not found any element, despite the excellent potential , to be reported and noteworthy. Really sorry. As well as, in our opinion, it could be interesting to add a creative mode , giving the player the possibility to create first-person levels with all the panels, signs, traffic lights, signals etc … made available during the campaign.
This would definitely expand the longevity of the title, perhaps also offering online access to the various levels created by the community, without necessarily having to increase the hours of the campaign itself . Furthermore, the addition of a similar mode, would give the possibility to enjoy more of the splendid artistic sector and the excellent style that The Pedestrian presents .
Of course, all this could be possible following good results, also in terms of economic feedback, that the team will receive. Ours, therefore, remains a suggestion based on a felt need, as well as an incentive to think a little bigger. The music is very pleasant and never disturbing and in general the performance of the title is perfect but this, there was not even need to emphasize it .
Let’s sum it up!
Our review of The Pedestrian , in its PS5 version , ends here. We are faced with an original and captivating puzzle platform, certainly not free from defects, but which absolutely deserves a chance . We advise all fans of the genre to try it, especially to get out of the classic schemes offered by titles of this same genre in which, sifting through a hypothetical catalog, you can still find games with a very strong personality, but not there is nothing comparable, even on a visual level, to The Pedestrian .
