Resonance First Impression Review

Introduction

The opening sequence of a newscast covering simultaneous global catastrophe, combined with the game's quartet of main characters, gave us an immediate Left 4 Dead vibe, though (thankfully) there don't appear to be any zombies or assault rifles involved in this project.

We spoke with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games prior to and during our time playing Resonance, and gathered some information on the basics of gameplay. Resonance is about 8 hours long, and the full game was available to us upon starting it. You begin as scientist and partial protagonist Ed (or "Eddings" as his friend Dr. Morales is prone to call him), waking up on a Sunday morning and attempting to find your ringing cell phone.

The game follows very traditional point-and-click standards, using left-clicking to move and interact with objects. In that same vein, items in your inventory--such as a fresh cell phone battery--can be combined with other items to progress the game's story. We witnessed a handful of interactive objects and people that were non-story related, resulting in some humorous off-the-cuff musings about the uselessness of the object at hand.

More interesting is the game's quartet of characters--a scientist (Ed), a doctor (Anna), a police officer, and an undercover journalist. Dave Gilbert explained that these characters each have unique skills relating to progressing through the game, and the player can switch between controlling them all once they've come together as a group later in the game. The idea of managing multiple character skills and at least four different inventories sounds like an enjoyable challenge.

Resonance has been out since June of this year, and been available on Steam since July. Per expectation, it contains a number of achievements to unlock (one of which we managed to get during our brief playtime). The game seems focused on the dangers of atomic collision and of the "resonance" that occurs between people living their lives. Perhaps the coolest thing about it is the voice acting provided for at least all of the main characters: Resonance takes its time, and is clearly focused on its story and telling it properly. We highly recommend checking it out.

Meet the tester

Lee Neikirk

Former Editor, Home Theater

@Koanshark

Lee was Reviewed's point person for most television and home theater products from 2012 until early 2022. Lee received Level II certification in TV calibration from the Imaging Science Foundation in 2013. As Editor of the Home Theater vertical, Lee oversaw reviews of TVs, monitors, soundbars, and Bluetooth speakers. He also reviewed headphones, and has a background in music performance.

See all of Lee Neikirk's reviews