Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, is a fun game that overstays its welcome with linear progress and repetitive combat.

Enslaved takes place long after the apocalypse, as proven from the vegetation growing from a desolate New York City. You control Monkey, a drifter enslaved by his new partner Trip. Trip needs your help getting home after the two of you are stranded deep in the dangerous wasteland.


The gameplay is there, but leaves a lot to be desired. You will run, jump, and swing around the terrain with style and grace. Unfortunately paths are straightforward and invisible walls prevent any sort of real danger. Later on in the game, timing becomes a factor as moving pieces are installed in you path, but these moments are too far and few between.

When you're not traversing the land you'll be fighting mechs. There's a small variety of mechs to battle, but each are really fought with the same button-mashing technique. You can upgrade Monkey by collecting orbs and adding a few new moves to your arsenal, but fights will primarily play out the same. People with a little more patience and creativity might have more fun than I did against waves of mechs, but I found myself getting bored and annoyed as sheer numbers tried to outmatch you rather than skill.

On a side note, the camera can be a nuisance. It's not a game breaking problem, but can be frustrating at times. The camera in games is a pet peeve of mine and should never be an issue. I'm not claiming games are easy to make, but I feel like it should be Development 101 at this point.

Despite all my complaining, Enslaved can be fun. It has moments that make you wonder what could have been had the developers capitalized on it. The opening chapter is pretty epic, and runs your hopes high. Other points in the game can ramp up the adrenaline, but are too short to thoroughly enjoy.  What I can thankfully say for the game as it's greatest asset is the buddy system. I was a little nervous about the whole, "If Trip dies, you die," aspect of the game. But aside from scripted moments, Trip stays away from danger and allows you to handle your business.

Throughout your adventure, you'll need to tag team puzzles and help each other around turrets. These are the moments where gameplay shines, and I only wish this would have been the primary focus of the game. Commands are easy to give, although glitchy at times, and Trip is always where she needs to be.

The story is well enough but the characters are solid and push you through the game's pitfalls to see how it all plays out. The voice acting is superb (Monkey voiced by Andy Serkis) and the models are nicely polished. If not for the characters, I definitely would have sent this game back long before I beat it. But I pressed on, and I'm glad I saw how it ended.

I'm going to give Enslaved: Odyssey to the West a 7/10, as a rental only. For a single playthrough, it has enough to keep you busy for awhile, but I don't see any replay value and there's nothing to hold your interest after the story ends. For Gamefly members, keep it low in the queue as a backup.