Early birds or night owls, sunrise or sunset in the evening; the two most basic and most typical contrasts divide and unite anyone, including Frank and Drake. The protagonist of today’s Speedrun review, developed by Appnormals and published by Chorus Worldwide, is actually a double as its two protagonists play precisely on their differences and their possible similarities.
Two tenants, two different worlds
Frank works as a janitor in an apartment building, mainly doing maintenance. Lonely and taciturn, the boy rather pours out his thoughts in a personal diary and does not resign himself to the thought that he will soon have a new roommate. Drake is apparently cocky and allergic to sunlight (to the point of requiring his bedroom window to be blacked out), so he found himself a job at night.
It’s understandable why the bar that symbolizes their relationship falls almost unfairly at first when they both have to (or don’t?) communicate via stickers. Just as surely, their bond will be strengthened during an adventure that veers functionally from the paranormal to the general scenario, provided you go through a steady incipit; Appnormals has created their own modern version of Frankenstein (Frank) and Dracula (Drake), an original and beautifully executed gimmick that will keep players intrigued until the end credits.
Point and click puzzle
If the pace of the story finds a good balance between more or less slow moments, then Frank and Drake’s way of pointing and clicking is linear and vague, to the point where the elements to interact with are, on average, a couple per screen, but they are complex. read; again, after finding and touching an object, it will be necessary to understand and solve any puzzle in order to trace your steps.
This is due to the multiple choice system that characterizes the game for the most part, with a number of ramifications (dictated by seemingly trivial decisions such as leaning towards cinema, towards beer, or even towards theater or something else in reserve). time) is well thought out, giving some replay value.
With the exception of a few dissonant notes, such as asking you to press a key to go when the beat is perhaps more impactful, the puzzles and mini-games are varied and successful.
Outstanding shots
The rotoscope technique succeeds in instilling a unique personality in Frank and Drake, strong through 5,000 frames of animation created from footage from the real world; both always move smoothly, increasing the interaction between the player and the avatar.
The rotoscope effect touches the environment, embellishing it with natural movements that, combined with the soundtrack, seem to go to the rhythm of the music. It should be noted the complete absence of the Italian language, combined with a large number of texts in English, which require not too deep knowledge of it.
Trophically speaking: one story, many endings to discover.
Remember we talked about replayability and choices to make? The dev team is keen to walk you through every nuance they have in store, to the point that the 7 gold trophies present are almost all dedicated to the available endings. Add these to 6 Bronze, 10 more Puzzle-focused Silver, and the coveted Platinum, and you have a total of 24 recommended trophies for a not-too-hard hunt. Tip, as usual, keep the list next to the trophies that go through the PlayStation Bit forum.
