Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Xbox 360)
Japanese game developers frequently draw on the Chinese novel Journey to the West in their games, the most common element often being the monkey king Sun Wukong being transplanted into their title, sometimes with barely any alterations. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West definitely isn’t shy about it being directly inspired by the work, but rather than just presenting the already familiar elements to us again, it presents a brand new interpretation of those classic ideas while standing on its own as an independent work.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has been all but wiped out by war and robotic creatures roam the world wiping out the remnants they can find, two individuals end up captured by the Mechs to serve as slaves. The game’s hero, a man known only as Monkey, begins to escape from his captors, but another escapee named Trip ends up taking the last escape pod with him. After a crash landing, Trip realizes she’ll need Monkey’s assistance to survive, but rather than asking the rough and wild man to help, she places a slave crown on him that will force him to do as she says. Trip does promise to free him if he can help her get home, so Monkey begrudgingly agrees, the two taking off into the ruins of New York City together.
The partnership between Monkey and Trip is the backbone of the plot, and its development is definitely a major highlight of the experience. The two are thrown together in a situation neither likes and forced to work together, both believing the other a hindrance at worst or a tool at best. Over the course of the adventure they do begin to see each other more as people, but the build up and developments along the way are anything but cookie-cutter. There are moments that test the two as people and subvert the expected story path. The harsh situations they find themselves in test them on how they truly feel about their companion, and many moments show the growing friendship without commenting on it. It has faith in the player reading the complexities of the expressions and unspoken words, and its careful pace makes it both worth getting invested in without it rushing to go the expected path with its narrative.
Many moments are all the sweeter or much more heartbreaking because Enslaved: Odyssey to the West isn’t just going to have these two become fast friends and won’t toss away the natural barriers these two have put up in the harsh world they inhabit. The narrative goes in an enjoyable direction without being completely predictable, but its conclusion does feel a little disconnected from the substance of the rest of the game. The path there definitely has parts to appreciate though. Tragedy, introspection, and humor can enter this post-apocalyptic story without breaking its tone, although humor is certainly the most at risk since the comedy relief character Pigsy is introduced right after a huge tragedy and lingers in an awkward zone for quite a while because of this abrupt shift.
Pigsy also comes with an unfortunate change of setting to further make his portion of the game a little less interesting. You begin the game and spend quite a lot of time in the ruins of New York City, recognizable landmarks now covered in plant life as nature reclaims it. The damage done by the Mechs is apparent all around, but there is a melancholy beauty to much of it, some recognizable locations like Grand Central Station an absolute mess but others like the city streets marvelous with their skyscrapers covered with ivy. Some technical issues with how things load in can sometimes hamper the look, but they’re easy enough to look past. Your goal is to leave the fallen metropolis though and your path takes you to some new destinations, a few of them interesting ideas for how people would rebuild in a world after the end and others like the grimy scrapyards perhaps overused and not really wowing in the same way as the other settings.
These locations aren’t just for show either, as this action game has plenty of moments where Monkey will need to climb crumbling structures to get around. Some of these are certainly straightforward, more about looking dangerous than actually being dangerous, and it’s not too surprising that a few are more about showing an impressive view rather than providing a challenging platforming segment. Some of these moments can feel a bit like filler since they aren’t putting up a fight, but there are some that actually integrate puzzle mechanics or real threats to make traversal more engaging. A minefield with turrets and Mechs ready to gun you down if you don’t take the right path, a derelict theater where you need to safely navigate the rafters while activating stage controls, and a settlement outside of New York where you need to safely climb up a windmill and get it spinning by hand stand out and show these mechanics aren’t just there to get you from place to place. There are some moments where Monkey can get on his “cloud” though, a device more akin to a hoverboard that doesn’t ever really find its footing. It can be used for high speed chases or helping in a boss fight, but it’s mostly just a speedier way of getting around and one with a very small presence.
The combat is surprisingly basic. Monkey uses a special staff to fight off the Mechs and other foes he faces on his odyssey, but not much is asked of it when it is required. Most foes just require mashing of the attack buttons and occasional dodge to overcome, and when an enemy is out of reach, your options are the limited staff shots for either a temporary stun before you can reach them or basic damage from afar. It’s a functional sort of fighting that provides basic thrills and can be complicated at times by the enemy mix or some extenuating circumstance. You can purchase upgrades with the orbs enemy Mechs drop upon destruction, but it’s the boss fights that usually add interesting wrinkles to the fighting mechanics, some foes like the giant mechanical dog portrayed as threatening not just within the story but in how they attack and must be dealt with.
There are other attempts to make the battles more interesting too. Trip is your constant companion on the adventure, sometimes providing help with a mechanical dragonfly that beautifully masquerades as a hair ornament most of the time, but other times you do need to make sure Mechs don’t target her during the fight… something that only occurs if you’re almost deliberately careless. Stealth is similarly integrated despite not being accentuated properly, although just like protecting Trip, this might be a benefit in disguise. Some parts of the game you can choose to fights Mechs directly or sneak around them, and usually fighting them isn’t all that difficult so you don’t need to slow down the action if you so wish. Other moments do enforce it though and they can have some interesting platforming trials tied to them, and by tossing in other segments like moments where you control a turret to mow down waves of enemies, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West helps avoid some of the stagnation you might have experienced if the generic combat wasn’t properly broken up.
THE VERDICT: While it has many moments of generic combat and basic platforming, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West still manages to entertain in plenty of ways. Its narrative is well crafted for the most part as it follows the development of two well-realized characters, its emotional beats strengthened by the way their personal journeys are influenced by an interesting post-apocalyptic setting. Boss battles and interesting set pieces allow the gameplay to have its own highlights, so while it’s not as impressive as it could have been, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West certainly has plenty of moments worth experiencing.
And so, I give Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for Xbox 360…
A GOOD rating. The story and setting are certainly the most captivating aspects of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the areas that definitely give this game its most interesting moments, but it can feel like the deeper you get into it the more it struggles to do something with the elements outside of the relationship between Monkey and Trip. Their growth is well done from start to finish and compelling despite some of the weird paths the travel narrative takes, and those deviations certainly don’t hurt the game save when paired with some of the more basic moments of play. These aren’t criticisms pointed at saying the game is bad though, more why it missed being great. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has some wonderful moments that mix purpose and platforming and some exciting battles with daunting foes. Still, a lot of time is spent with straightforward climbing, clobbering foes, or messing with shallow mechanics like the Cloud, and while none of these are bad, they definitely would need to be punched up to make the overall experience consistently engaging rather than the player being strung along by the big set pieces and story developments.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is an entertaining tale that feels distinct despite its source material. It handles a well traveled narrative of two people coming together in a harsh situation in a way that mixes the appeals of the familiar story with interesting complications that avoid any triteness, and its setting is an excellent backdrop for it all. Ninja Theory could have spent more time on its actual gameplay, but the action still comes together well at many key moments to keep it from ever getting stale. Thanks to its moments of creativity and careful character interaction, the personal odyssey of Monkey and Trip is definitely an entertaining trip.