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0 Prim by German-based devs Common Colors (formerly CMMN CLRS) is a fascinating 2D point-and-click adventure game coming to PC today (24th October)!
The quirky but cute game has been led by founder Jonas Fisch, who, interestingly, is an English and philosophy teacher during the day. Having fallen in love with the amazing “Day of the Tentacle” game back in the day, Prim is his first full-length game. Made possible thanks to a team of talented freelancers. Prim started as a concept back in 2018 and was brought about thanks to a fully funded Kickstarter in 2021. Impressively reaching 100% funding in 22 hours.
Prim – Visions Are Worth Fighting For
With inspiration drawn from Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Terry Pratchett, LucasArts, and a dose of Greek mythology. Who is Prim and how does it play?
Gameplay
Set in a hand-illustrated black-and-white world, you take control of several characters, with the main character being Prim. Unbeknownst to her, Prim is the daughter of the Angel of Death, Thanatos. While exploring the family attic that used to be her late home before her mum passed away, you discover a portal to the land of the dead. Having stepped through it, you are introduced to your dad, who really does not know how to deal with teenage girls. Cue hilarious fully-voiced dialogues between the pair, with responses that you can choose from.
Controls
Being of the point-and-click genre, the controls are simple and as you would expect. You use the mouse to look around the scene for items to interact with. Either adding them to your growing inventory or revealing information about them. There is not a multitude of options, therefore you can focus more on the story and gameplay than having to select the correct button each time.
Escape?
Your first mission is to escape from your bedroom in your dad’s house within the Land of the Dead, also known as The Realm of Hades. During your initial puzzle, you are acquainted with a strange eye with spider legs. This promptly becomes your way of exploring areas that Prim cannot navigate to. The game is full of dark humour. For instance when Prim has her eye removed by the spider, who promptly takes up residence in her eye socket.
Locations
Without revealing too much about the storyline, your main quest is to save your best friend who has also entered your world. There are many beautifully drawn locations that you visit along the way. These range from a spooky Harbour, and a Forbidden Forest with a hanging Hank, all the way to your devilish back garden and The Fates’ Home. Each point of interest is serenaded by interesting gothic and mythological characters. The dialogue between Persephone and Hank was comical. Each person you meet adds their bit to the story that helps you get towards your next goal. Make sure to watch out for zombeavers!
Need Help?
You can choose to walk in and out of the scenes or use the handy map to fast travel from location to location. A helpful diary that is in your inventory helps to remind you of what needs doing, while there is also a hints mechanic should you need it. The diary records information as answers are discovered through talking and inspecting items. At times, there are elements of memory still required as you cannot access the diary during dialogue! Items within your inventory can be combined by dropping one over the other and used on the scene.
Solve It Clouseau!
During my gameplay, I found the puzzles that I was tasked with very varied, with none being repeated. I do enjoy it when you encounter a puzzle that makes you think. Like most point-and-click games, the answers can be staring at you in the face, however, for one reason or another, you just do not see it at first.
That’s what makes this type of game fun! It shouldn’t be too easy. The feeling of accomplishment in solving puzzles in Prim is rewarding for the brain matter used and leaves you smiling! The game includes a hint system for those times players may get stuck. You can also hold down the spacebar which makes little glow bugs fly to each interactive item.
The mini-games that are dotted around are a great addition to the normal “look”, “pickup”, and “use” functions that all point-and-click games share. Building flat-pack items was not on my list, but was great fun to carry out. One thing to look out for in each scene is the hidden collectable cards. Each one you collect goes into your deck, with several sets to complete. Once you have all 8 of a set you can partake in a game with them!
Graphics & Audio
The graphical style of Prim is gorgeous. The hand-drawn scenes and characters as well as the single-frame animation are a real nod to the early games of the genre. The gothic Tim Buton-esque inspiration oozes out of every crevice. The movement of the spider eye is comical and despite not talking, shows off its mischievous character well through body eye and leg language.
For people who donated to the Kickstarter campaign, you will discover etchings over several trees when walking through woods or visiting other scenes. A lovely ode to those who supported Prim by the dev team.
The soundtrack to Prim is orchestral and creates a spooky and mystical atmosphere to accompany the gameplay. Composer Bryan Atkinson’s music varies from location to location depending on characters and events and brings each area to life Danny Elfman-style.
The dialogue is fully-voiced and available in both English and German. Maria Pendolino is the English-speaking voice for titular character Prim. Maria brings a sassy and loveable vibe to her character, perfect for arguing with your grim reaper dad. Other voiced characters add their own personalities to the game which makes every interaction engaging and eventful!
Longevity
Prim offers 6 to 8 hours of gameplay. However there is a lot to do during this time as you navigate the underworld. The mini-games are especially fun, including locating all of the cards dotted around in each scene. Can you complete your deck-building collection?
Final Thoughts
I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my play-through of Prim. The gothic hand-drawn monochrome art style is lovely. The entwinement of Greek mythology puts an interesting spin on the setting and storyline. The characters are all enjoyable and bring the narrative to life while the aforementioned skill of puzzle-solving is at just the right level of difficulty in my opinion. Kudos to Jonas Fisch and his team for bringing Prim to life.
Prim scores a Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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