Past Cure

Past Cure is an independent action game developed by Phantom 8. In the game the player controls Ian, a former elite soldier, who has undergone military experiments and tries to uncover his past. Past Cure was released on 23 February 2018 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Past Cure
Developer(s)Phantom 8 Studio
Publisher(s)Phantom 8 Studio
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Release23 February 2018
Genre(s)Action

Gameplay

Past Cure is an action indie video game. Played from a third-person perspective, the player controls Ian, a former elite soldier. Ian sets out to uncover the truth about military experiments that were done to him, which gave him special powers. Abilities include the power to slow time and astral projection. Ian, assisted by his brother, also tries to master his abilities. Ian goes to the criminal underworld where he uses his special powers to survive. However, every time he uses his powers, his mind becomes more detached from reality.

Development

Simon Gerdesmann, managing director of Phantom 8, said the idea to develop a game started from a pitch from a friend. While hesitant at first, he later decided to develop the game.[1] The development started in March 2016 with three video game developers; later the team expanded to six members in the middle of the development stage and by the end had grown to eight members.[1] Simon said that because of the eight people on the team, the studio was called Phantom 8.[1] The studio is an international team, with people from Turkey, Belgium, Egypt, Romania, England, and North Macedonia.[1] The game is built in Unreal Engine. The inspirations for the game were Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid.[1]

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregator Metacritic calculated an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews".[2]

John Cal McCormick of the Push Square said that the game is bad, and he further elaborated that, "But it's also the best kind of bad game, in that it's not for a lack of effort or that the team were bereft of ideas that the finished product doesn't come together".[3] Makedonski of the Destructoid wrote that, "This is a game that is flawed to its core. The mangled story and shoddy design prevent any single aspect from ever sticking out as something special. Don't even risk taking a bargain bin flier on this one. You'll only end up frustrating yourself".[4]

Jon Denton of Trusted Reviews wrote, "Past Cure has a much lower budget than most action games, and it’s refreshing that the team didn’t use crowdfunding to get their project off the ground".[5] Erin Castillo of COGconnected praised the game for "good use of its textural environments" she further added that, "[the game is] really capturing both Ian’s real world and his dream one and the cutscenes within this story-driven narrative are well done as well".[6] Chandler Wood of the PlayStation LifeStyle wrote that the voice actors of the game were uninterested in delivering their lines, he further explained that, "There were numerous places where I felt that my Google Assistant’s voice would do a better job at reading the lines than the voice actors did".[7]

Accolades
Year Award Category Result Refs.
2017 Game Connection People’s Choice Award Won [8][9][10]
Best Hardcore Game Nominated
Best Indie Game Nominated
Most Original Game Nominated
White Nights Conference Best Storytelling Won

References
  1. "[INTERVIEW] Simon Gerdesmann, from Phantom 8 studio (Past Cure) – English Version". GamersFlag. Retrieved 15 Jan 2020.
  2. "Past Cure". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  3. John, Cal McCormick (2018-02-26). "Review: Past Cure (PS4)". Push Square. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  4. "Review: Past Cure". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  5. Denton, Jon. "Past Cure Review". Trusted Reviews. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  6. "Past Cure Review - Caught Between Two Scary Worlds". COGconnected. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  7. "Past Cure Review - Compartmentalization of Ideas (PS4)". PlayStation LifeStyle. 2018-02-22. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  8. "Game Connection Europe 2016 - Development Awards". Game Connection. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  9. GI Editors (2017-11-02). "PAST CURE: Action Stealth Thriller Wins People's Choice Award at Game Connection Europe". Game-Insider.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  10. "PAST CURE – Action Stealth Thriller Wins People's Choice Award at Game Connection Europe". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
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