‘Full Bore’ Review (PC)
I’m the type of gamer who often likes to just explore without the threat of constantly dying. I’ll have my moments where I’ll venture into something like Dark Souls 2 but for the most part it’s fun to just discover things. This is why adventure games last longer for me… and games like Full Bore.
Full Bore was born out of a Kickstarter campaign that allowed its developers Whole Hog Games to create the first part of the game titled The First Dig in 2013. Now we are in 2014 and development has continued into the second part of the game Into Hard Earth. Now released on Steam, Full Bore is now complete with both sections of the game intact, so I guess we can say this is a Kickstarter success.
Full Bore puts you into the body of a wild boar who likes to dig, in fact the digging leads you straight into working in a mine which holds secrets. The aim of the game is to collect gems from the mine, but as you do and you get deeper you find puzzles that must be solved and a mystery in the depths waiting to be discovered. At this point I’ll admit I’ve not discovered the secret of the mine but feel I’ve played enough of it to be able to give my verdict on the game and most importantly will it keep me coming back.
In the first few map sections that I discovered I will admit to getting a little annoyed at the lack of progress I seemed to be making. I was stuck trying to help an engineer to fix a drilling machine but couldn’t find the piece. Once I found this, the game finally opened up. Giving the ability to teleport around areas that have already been discovered and more story items opening up Full Bore has a way of lingering in your mind and making you want to go back for more. It’s a little like Fez but not as cute.
When creating a world like the one in Full Bore it is important to not let the gamer too stuck, and I will say that sometimes this is something that tends to happen. The ability to move around the level can sometimes be restrictive with puzzles needing to be solved, but once you get past these there is an anticipation that the next part of the story is going to be revealed. I particularly liked the way that story elements don’t get thrown straight into your face, but they are more hinted at and left for you to be discovered. An example of this would be masked boars that appear to be watching your progress, only to disappear when you get close.
With controls that can be slightly annoyed sometimes you do tend to want to leave Full Bore for a while and maybe visit it sometime later when your mind is refreshed, but the quality of the game is shown in the fact that you do want to go back. With an interesting story waiting to be discovered I’d say that Full Bore may be hindered by its control system at times but the feeling of progression in the game and the interesting mystery surrounding the mines that will keeps you coming back for more.
Full Bore is available on Steam now.
