Your enjoyment of Primal will be directly related to how immersed you become in its dark and brooding tale of goth chicks, gargoyles, and rockstars. It also helps quite a bit if you are a big proponent of the key-fetch puzzle, since that is the mechanic that makes up most of the game's (lack of) action.
If Trent Reznor was on the team that developed Munch's Oddysee, chances are the results would look a bit like Primal. There's no mistaking this game for anything but a third-party adventure game, and the combat system – if you can really call it a "system" – seems put in simply because to have a game without any combat would make it an "Adventure," instead of "Action/Adventure," and we all know that is tantamount to retail suicide.
You play as the lovable duo of Jen and Scree. Jen is the girlfriend of a rock band's lead singer, who goes missing after a vicious attack in the back alleys at the hands of a vicious demon. While Jen is in a coma as a result of said mugging, Scree, the adorable stone gargoyle, brings her spirit to his realm, where she is to become the chosen one who saves a broken land. Oh yeah, she also would like her boyfriend back.
Primal looks great, and is certainly a polygon pusher. Characters are exquisitely detailed, though Jen's running animations are a bit slow and boring. Primal shines exceptionally well with its particle, water, and flame effects, as well as with its ability to make each huge area feel like a lost, desolate world on the brink of destruction by an evil force. Equally well done is the voice work, which ranges from good to excellent. Jen is one of the best- voiced female game characters in years, and she has wit and personality, instead of just the exaggerated attitude that most buxom game beauties are known for.
It's a good thing they made the story and characters so engrossing, because the actual game can drag, and it does so often. While you will be overcome with giddiness for the first few hours by the sheer scope of the levels and the beauty of the environments, it quickly becomes evident that Primal's gameplay is primarily a matter of using Jen to climb things when jumping is required, opening a door, and letting Scree follow, or using Scree to scale walls when climbing is required, then letting Jen through.
Repeat the pattern above a few hundred times, throw in some levers and a bit of sloppy combat that is similar to Bloodrayne, sans gore, and Primal becomes a good idea that gets tedious in a hurry. Those who can overlook its repetitive mechanics will find an engrossing, well-acted tale, but most will find these faults too numerous to put up with.
-George
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