NORTH

Experimental games, you don’t see them often on Xbox. NORTH is pretty much the definition of experimental, … and weird. This short visual experience isn’t your typical game and that’s fine. Developers should have the creative freedom to make whatever they want, it should remain fun though. Let this review answer that question, is NORTH fun? 

THE GOOD

• NORTH has many what the f***-moments, moments you’ll scratch your head in disbelieve. Wondering what the hell is happening or what you should do.  Storyline it isn’t clear what NORTH is about, but I had the idea that I was trying to fit in a new country (or planet). Not understanding the language or cultural believes. I was honestly really surprised that the game made me think how frustrating it must be for so many people to feel at home.
• Visually NORTH might look pretty cheap but the art design is spot on. Always giving you the right feeling. The use of colour and shapes is remarkable and helps you to give an extra sense of a confused and lost experience.
• (No score influence) For Achievement hunters NORTH is a must have, giving players 1000 Gamerscore in 30-40 minutes. I don’t think you have another game (besides Avatar) that gives you so many Gamerscore in so little time.
• One thing I immediately noticed was the great use of sounds. It is all very simplistic but it does a fine job creating a specific mood and setting.

Mixed Feelings

• NORTH is a short game, you can finish it in 15 minutes. Although most players will be busy for a small hour. The game doesn’t hold your hands and sometimes you are left wondering what you need to do.

THE BAD

• Even though the game is really short I didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t save it. You can never predict your future and with my first play through I had to quit. Sure I could have left the Xbox powered on, but that can’t be the point. It wouldn’t have been such a big task for the dev to create a save-system.

NORTH [Score: 6,2/10] Weird, weird and weird. That’s one way you could describe NORTH. It is awesome that games like this find a way on Xbox, I wish more developers would bring some things like this to consoles. Anyway, this very short game is great for Achievement hunters or people who like to play something entirely different.