Review | Doctor Who The Edge of Reality

LifeisXbox’s Doctor Who The Edge of Reality review | Saying Exterminate while squashing spiders, having inside jokes while looking at statues or blaming the Silence when things got weird. Know what I’m talking about? Great, you’re a Whovian, just like me. Developer Maze Theory opens all possible doors to make Doctor Who fans happy. Appearances from my personal favourite David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker in an adventure where you have to save the present, past and future against a new threat. Known enemies from the rich Doctor Who universe makes the adventure complete. Is this first-person adventure worth your time and is it required to have seen the British series? Find out in this Doctor Who The Edge of Reality review! Allons-y!

ℹ️ | We played Doctor Who The Edge of Reality for four hours on Xbox Series X

What we liked!

• Puzzles | This Doctor Who game doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it does feature some interesting puzzles. It is a bit held back as this was originally a VR videogame but I had fun figuring things out, there’s never any time pressure and the solutions are always solved with logic. (that is if the puzzle solutions want to trigger) For example, controlling the Tardis is done with a Simon Says kinda puzzle and most other puzzle solutions can be found in the environment.
• You feel like someone who’s part of the Doctor Who team | One thing that Maze Theory did very well is bringing an authentic-feeling Doctor Who story. This game could honestly be one of the more memorable series episodes and that’s all thanks to great use of the source material. So what is precisely going on? A reality virus is destroying the universe and the Doctor (played by Whittaker) needs your urgent help. Your task is to find three-time crystals hidden in time and space and by doing so you’ll face Daleks, cybermen and the scary weeping angels. The dialogue is good, the voiced performances are excellent and the plot is continuously progressing so things don’t get bored.

Somewhere between

• Knowledge about Doctor Who is preferred | A lot of the magic comes from easter eggs or knowing what a Dalek or a Weeping Angel is. You’re going to be a bit clueless why a regular London police box is larger than it looks or can travel you around in time and space. It is pretty much clear from the start that this game is made for (and by) Whovians. Without general knowledge of the franchise, it will be hard to follow. On the plus side, Maze Theory had freeplay to make this standout for fans of the franchise and the game is filled with little easter eggs and references! I personally loved to be in typical Doctor Who moments, although the execution could have been a lot better.
• Are these visuals from when the original Doctor Who episodes aired? The Seventh Doctor was in the year 1989, so I’m a bit overstating it as the game definitely looks better than Ducktales or Golden Axe but it is far from a modern-looking game. It clearly looks like a VR-ported game and there are graphical glitches everywhere. For example, level scaling looks wrong and the protagonist’s arm goes through every single object and wall. That wouldn’t have been an issue for most games but the heavy use of the sonic screwdriver makes it very noticeable. Textures, the lighting and effects all look cheaply done as if you were playing an early Xbox One videogame. The atmosphere makes up for the messy look though as you always feel part of the Doctor Who universe.

What we disliked

• Not even the sonic screwdriver can fix the bugs | Yes it seems to have limitations. As the developer couldn’t hotfix all the numerous bugs with the sonic screwdriver. Things get frustratingly hard to swallow, even as the biggest Whovian. Game-breaking bugs are literally everywhere and unlike the Silence, you will remember them. I frequently had to restart levels because a puzzle solution didn’t trigger, my playable character got teleported outside a spaceship or an elevator refused to do why it was made. There are no level checkpoints.. must be a Dalek thing as they love to be annoying… so when something goes wrong, and it will you have to restart the entire level. This my friends is terrible work from the developer.

How long to beat the story | 4 hours
How long to achieve 1000G | 5 hours
Similar with | You can’t compare the greatness of the Doctor Who world with anything else.

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