Game Review: One Step After Fall (Xbox Series X)

From The Bergson’s Games Studio comes One Step After Fall. A walking sim game with minor puzzle solving elements. Featuring a story that lacks engagement and a completion time of less than 30 minutes. In fact, if you go for the ‘bad’ ending, it will only take around 5-10 minutes.

If you’re thinking that this sounds like a waste of time, you’re not wrong. It really is. Especially as what it offers, lacks substance and engagement. Any depth the story could have fails to materialise with such a short length and most of it comes via picking up letters. Hardly thrilling stuff.

Players take on the role of a man named Steve, who is going through a particularly rough time in his life. So bad have things got, that he is considering ending it all. Returning to his isolated family cottage to see if there is anything worth holding on for.

That’s where the player comes in, guiding Steve across a tiny landscape, into the occasional building, studying items, and delving into his memories. The goal being to find enough reasons for him to carry on. Although there are two different endings, one far more depressing than the other.

Or at least that is what One Step After Fall would like you TO feel but the lack of detail and depth means either ending elects nothing more than a half-hearted shrug. How could anyone possibly care about a story that can be wrapped up in a matter of minutes without experiencing anything of value?

Even if you’re going for the ‘good’ ending; the confusing narrative, attempt to add unnerving elements, and lack of weight to the gameplay, means even the longer play-through feels extremely light.

Some nice visuals, music, and sound effects can’t overshadow the lack of anything else. Even then, elements barely impressive, as in one case, once you encounter a ‘scarecrow’ who follows and taunts you, its dialogue repeats over and over again. You’ll either turn the game off through sheer annoyance or finish it as quickly as possible.

It’s an odd entry in the ‘walking simulator’ category as it feels more like a level or section of a bigger game. The small location and minor puzzles to overcome would be fine if they were part of a bigger picture, but that is not the case. It’s just not worth playing.