IN A WORD: MAYBE
IN A NUTSHELL:
Zitat:
WHAT TO EXPECT: FMV movie short. Interactive thriller. Good production values. Mature themes. Plot choices determine scene branches. Foreign language with dubbed languages. Some subtitles. Lacks standard video controls. Multiple endings. Single-player.
ACHIEVEMENTS: AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS IT GETS.
STATUS: COMPLETE.
WHEN TO BUY: FOR FANS OF FMV MOVIE SHORTS ONLY OR FOREIGN LANG. FILMS.
More info below....
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2531813439
THE LOWDOWN:
She Sees Red (SSR) is a short interactive thriller with mature themes set in the murky underworld of criminal drug-smuggling. The entire movie takes place on location at a popular nightclub where several murders have taken place. Produced by Rhinotales a company with experience in making short films. By the looks of it for the Russian speaking market.
Those of you with today's subscription platforms should recognise the appearance and style taken on by SSR. It is somewhat reminiscent of these contemporary productions. Made with professional actors, editing, lighting, and sound design. Shown in FMV format. A primarily foreign language short film, unless you are a Russian speaker SSR will need to be watched with full dubbed English voice-overs.
Its screenplay is shown from the viewpoints of the antagonist; an anonymous killer and the protagonist; an experienced detective sent to apprehend the murderer. The narrative is portrayed through scenes that alternate between the present and flash-backs. During the present the detective follows clues that lead her closer to the killer's identity, as flash-backs reveal the killer's actions. The constant change of viewpoint continues until the finale, where all is revealed. At least for the ending chosen by the viewer's actions during the current watch.
At key points during it's playtime the viewer will be prompted to made a choice from two option. Their choice will progress the story one way or another. Each decision restricts the scenes that will be played and eventually which of the four finales will be shown. The dozen plus Steam achievements are linked to these choices so the movie will have to viewed at least four times to achieve 100% completion. SSR contains the option to go to a scene or skip them from its main menu. It possess no other fundamental video controls such as; fast forward, rewind or a timeline to jump to a specific point in its run-time.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2531812759
THE GOOD:
+ Great quality FMV visuals and production values.
+ Some very good screenplay. Especially the superimposition of the two main character viewpoints.
+ Convincing main characters and supporting cast.
+ Excellent English language dub.
+ Can skip scenes but only after seen at least once.
THE BAD:
- Quite short in terms of entertainment. Its about 20mins in length. (30/62 scenes watched)
- Cannot fast-forward, rewind or jump to a scene on the fly.
- Doesn't show when specific scenes have finished playing and the next one starts.
- Imperfect lip-synching. Unsurprisingly.
- Not enough choices. Nor are the scenes shown as a result that impactful to the plot.
AND THE REST:
* Well told story if somewhat derivative. Decent writing despite the fairly hackneyed plot.
* Foreign film vibe.
* Decent supporting soundtrack.
* Perfectly fine subtitles with some minor translation mistakes.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2531810113
ANALYSIS:
Whether SSR is something for whomever is reading this, requires the consideration of this fundamental question - whether such products should be offered on Steam? YES | NO. If the answer is NO then those of you reading this can bypass this analysis and go to the end of this review. Personally I'm not a big fan of such products. There isn't enough content for the most part and the layer of mechanics that allow for choices is either near worthless or at best superficial. Sometimes however the subject matter may resonate with me and I can enjoy such a production. So if the answer is YES - then feel free to read on to see if SSR could be appealing.
An important follow-up question would be - Is it the right price [for what it is]? YES | NO. In this case the price point for this product would depend on the individual. From the perspective of someone who is not the biggest fan of this genre, the answer would depend on several factors. Primarily its length. In this case it could be argued that with such a short duration and when compared to the prices on other streaming platforms, SSR is does not provide value for money. On a sale it would perhaps be a different proposition. An alternative question would be - Does the subject matter, acting or some other aspect resonate? YES | NO. If the answer is YES then to what level. Enough to buy at full price? Only the reader can answer themselves. Since this was received for free for the purposes of reviewing I can only extrapolate such decision making step.
As for my personal experience with SSR, it was a very watchable piece of video entertainment. Professionally made, with very good production values. Especially given its likely budget. The plot proved to be well-structured. The writing decent. The cast of actors managed to convey their roles in a way that made the screenplay interesting. Most impressive was the main actor playing the lead detective, who delivered a very convincing performance. Delivering a perfect foil for the supporting cast. It did not hurt that she was attractive too or that the actors chosen to play the criminals looked the part if they were stereo-typed for the roles.
Given the core feature of SSR was the ability to make choices, choices that matter, it was disappointing to have so few. What's more the assertion that choices matter did not ring true in my experience. Unless as stated choosing to see a few different scenes over another set is enough. Perhaps this mechanism was more relevant towards which of the four endings is chosen for the current showing. Ultimately I wanted to see stronger differences in the choices. Real choices if you like. More of them too. There were simple not enough of these during the show's runtime.
VERDICT:
Overall whether SSR is a title for those considering its purchase depends on if controlling how a movie unfolds before their eyes is appealing enough. Given the fairly shallow nature of the production, format and decisions to make. It will also depend on whether the reader feels a strong enough pull to want to sit through watching SSR. That will depend on whether they believe they will enjoy its subject-matter. If the answers to these is in the affirmative then, this is something to definitely consider.
For my part I did enjoy watching SSR. Like my games I enjoy foreign language films if they bring something different to the experience but I could not see myself spending money to watch this. There is just not enough here but a good start. Furthermore I am of the opinion that products of this nature need to either be comparable against those shown on streaming platforms or they must be more interactive in their nature. To a level that would reach the most basic adventure games. Something like The 39 Steps comes to mind. As it stands She Sees Red is a fine product. Whether it is good enough for your time is something the reader will need to evaluate for themselves.
Zitat:
