Inspired by 60s pulp sci-fi movies, Albedo: Eyes From Outer Space is a first-person adventure game. Working as a night-watchman at a partially abandoned, secret research facility, you are knocked unconscious by a nearby explosion. Waking in the complex’s basement you look up and see a gaping hole in the ceiling. Escaping the damaged building is only the start of your troubles and as you begin to explore the base you encounter strange, unearthly organisms. Is this all because of some sort of biological experiment gone wrong? You’ll need to fight for survival as you unravel the mysteries and solve the problems that lie ahead.
Overall, Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space is just tedious. The occasional combat feels bad, the puzzles are unsatisfying, and the narrative is just boring. In some ways, it reminded me of BioForge, but without the weird sort of charm nor the ambition and sense of scale that BioForge had. Without that, Albedo is just a poorly-playing, uninteresting game...
I try to go easy on one-man passion projects, but Albedo: Eyes From Outer Space has so many things wrong with it that this is impossible. Everything from the frustrating puzzles to the awkward combat to what must be the worst control scheme I've ever seen just kept driving me past the point of forgiveness.
Painful progression and wonky UI make Albedo a much less enjoyable game than it could have been. If you feel like you are up for the challenge after hearing about our struggles and can get past the game's quirks, then good luck. We applaud you if you can manage to make it through without peeking at a guide.
The idea behind Albedo is a cool one, but it's one that doesn't feel like the idea fully panned out. I appreciate everything the game does offer, especially as I hear it was created by a one man team. I just wish it had more polish and felt better to player.
Albedo is a love letter to the sci-fi b-movies of years gone by, warts and all. With complex puzzles and a great aesthetic there are also some genuinely awful combat mechanics and confusing user interfaces that really put a dampener on the experience.
