The Complex

And, thank sweet robot christ, you can skip the scenes you’ve already seen. With nine possible endings, there’s good reason to go back and play through The Complex again, whizzing through to the ending to see how else the story could’ve panned out. The icing on the cake is how certain endings re-frame Amy’s actions and motives without undermining your agency.

The Complex is a well crafted interactive movie with a story that will initially hook you. As you lead Amy's decision making through the story, some moments can feel a bit out there or character motivations unclear, but it's a satisfying experience overall and it will scratch that sci-fi thriller itch.

I reviewed a little “interactive movie” in 2018 called Late Shift by Wales Interactive. While being a good movie in its own right, with decent acting and an interesting plot, it had very limited gameplay. It reminded me a lot of old interactive FMV titles for the Sega CD and 3DO. It was a step above something like Wurroom however, as the limited gameplay featured in Late Shift felt impactful towards the entire progression of the film. Wales Interactive is back at it once again with a very...

The Complex is a decently serviceable FMV game that has an ambitious relationship mechanic that drives choices forward. However, with some odd presentation choices and limited freedoms, this feels more like a midday movie matinee than a crowd-pleasing blockbuster.

The Complex's potential gets lost amid weird subplots, throwaway characters, and a ton of plot holes. With so few meaningful choices, it's not an experience worth repeating more than once.

Performances are mostly solid aside from the main protagonist, but the lacklustre script with a severe lack of character development aside from large amounts of exposition make it difficult to really care about any of them. Some of the endings are quite abrupt, leaving an unsatisfying finish. I find it unlikely that The Complex will win fans over to the genre, but those who do have a dedication may find something to enjoy.

I don’t want to discourage Wales Interactive from continuing down this path, however. While it didn’t shine often, there were glimpses of a world in which this can work and work beautifully. I just hope they can secure the funding necessary to achieve their ambition.

There is fun to be had here, especially in some of the more ridiculous endings, but even those are examples of tonal whiplash in a title that plays it straight for the most part. More film than game, The Complex doesn’t gain enough from the premise of being interactive - instead, it ends up as a strangely paced movie with a lack of focus and not enough tension to draw players in.

Full-motion video, or FMV as it’s more commonly known, is enjoying a renaissance. Despite dying a premature death on early CD-based systems such as the SEGA CD and Panasonic 3DO, games like Erica and Late Shift have ushered a new era for live action, story-driven escapades. The Complex is the latest attempt from Wales Interactive, and follows in the footsteps of its previous efforts, such as The Bunker. Unfortunately, this cringe-inducing sci-fi yarn about witless scientists and nanotech is best left in quarantine.

The Complex attempts to fuse Bandersnatch and Until Dawn and fails abysmally. Meaningless decision-making about characters that are impossible to care about makes what could have been a boring movie actively bad.