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DISASTER REPORT 4: SUMMER MEMORIES (PS4)
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Publisher: NIS America.
Developer: Granzella. Released: April 2020. Genre: Action/Adventure. Other versions: SWI; PC. Posted 20th August 2022. By Shane Battams © 2022 |
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The Disaster Report series has always proven something of a curiosity. Never the most technically refined, entries would nevertheless showcase imaginative ideas, taking advantage of the post-disaster setting to put them to good use. Disaster Report 4 looked set to continue this trend. However, it’s scheduled 2011 release would be cancelled in the wake of a real-life earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan that same year, which would also affect several other games and developers. It was a logical move considering how it the game might have hit a bit close to home, but some nine years after it’s projected release, Summer Memories would emerge in 2020 with Granzella at the helm – a team consisting of several developers from Irem. Unfortunately, the wait would not prove fruitful, as Disaster Report 4 misses the mark in so many regards that even the staunchest of series fans will likely cringe with disappointment.
As with previous instalments, Summer Memories concerns the impact of a natural disaster, seeing you create a character from a pretty rudimentary creation suite. As your protagonist is heading to a job interview, an earthquake strikes, leaving you to navigate the damaged city in its aftermath. Along the way, you’ll engage with many survivors including a band of students and their teacher, the underhanded Kumazawa and eventually something of a companion with Kanae, who desperately seeks her fiancé. Sadly, the story feels like a tonally scattershot mess. None of the characters are well enough written to leave an impression and some seem barely impacted by a natural disaster. It wouldn’t be so bad, but Granzella tried to satisfy both ends of the spectrum with awful results. It’s hard to excuse going from darker moments such as escaping from a pair of crooks who look to assault Kanae, to inane comedy that completely dilutes the impact of the narrative. Dialogue choices are often pointless or crude, like being able to hit on a lady moments after she is assaulted. It all builds to a crescendo of two woefully insane endings that make daytime soaps look like L.A. Confidential by comparison.
Disaster Report 4 was a long time in coming and sadly, the game shows its age both in its visuals and its gameplay design
If you thought the PS4 might help reverse Disaster Report’s tendency for technical failings, you’d also be wrong. Clearly showing some of its PS3 origins, its presentation ranges considerably in quality. Sometimes, in the right light, the ruined landscape looks impactful and distinct, such as a later section which is painted in a mournful purple hue. But these moments are countered by poorly designed character models, plentiful amounts of texture pop-in and some severe slowdown which impacts gameplay. Some levels run fine, while more busy stages can drop to much lower digits. It sometimes feels like the game could unravel at the seams, with animations bugging out and long loading times. The audio isn’t much better, though the Japanese voice work at least spares us the stiff delivery of Raw Danger. The music feels generic and unmemorable, while the effects do just about the bare minimum of conveying a natural disaster.
But perhaps the most damning indictment on Summer Memories is that it just isn’t much fun. The previous games were never gameplay masterpieces, but they experimented with funky mechanics, to create distinct experiences. But this entry leaves you feeling like a passive observer, with very little tangible gameplay. The opening sums this up well, as you wander around Surien Park just trying to trigger the next cut-scene to help aid your progress. Eventually, you bump into Ms. Higa and begin the search for her students. It just feels like a chore. Puzzles are less adventure game and more banal fetch quests, such as searching for a staff room key in a nearby fashion shop or finding several items which can form a makeshift rope to remove a sign blocking your path.
But perhaps the most damning indictment on Summer Memories is that it just isn’t much fun. The previous games were never gameplay masterpieces, but they experimented with funky mechanics, to create distinct experiences. But this entry leaves you feeling like a passive observer, with very little tangible gameplay. The opening sums this up well, as you wander around Surien Park just trying to trigger the next cut-scene to help aid your progress. Eventually, you bump into Ms. Higa and begin the search for her students. It just feels like a chore. Puzzles are less adventure game and more banal fetch quests, such as searching for a staff room key in a nearby fashion shop or finding several items which can form a makeshift rope to remove a sign blocking your path.
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While previous instalments didn’t have combat, the disaster feels like it has little impact on actual gameplay, instead seeing an aftershock drop a building to open the next area. While some survival mechanics, such as meters for hunger and toilet desperation, try to add distinction, they have little effect on moment-to-moment gameplay aside from a toilet icon telling you to go. Though you do gain access to vehicles, such as a rubber dingy to explore a flooded apartment block, these feel far too fleeting and unwieldy to control. Decisions pop up frequently, letting you either help others around you, serve your own needs, or hit on any woman in the vicinity, but the moral points system doesn’t affect which ending you can earn and, like so much of the gameplay here, feels inconsequential.
At least, for those who commit, there’s some value here. A fair bit longer than previous games, an initial run will likely see you taking more than 12 hours to cross the finish line. There’s a slew of collectibles, including fulfilling your fantasy of becoming a Compass collector or picking up a slew of oddball outfits just to sap more tension out of this disaster, but you’ll often stumble on these without trying. While dual endings and plentiful choice might seem enticing for another run, frequent save points allow you to explore more of the game without restarting. Aspects like dialogue options often remain the same despite picking a different gender for your character. Most will likely tire of this one long before they finish.
At least, for those who commit, there’s some value here. A fair bit longer than previous games, an initial run will likely see you taking more than 12 hours to cross the finish line. There’s a slew of collectibles, including fulfilling your fantasy of becoming a Compass collector or picking up a slew of oddball outfits just to sap more tension out of this disaster, but you’ll often stumble on these without trying. While dual endings and plentiful choice might seem enticing for another run, frequent save points allow you to explore more of the game without restarting. Aspects like dialogue options often remain the same despite picking a different gender for your character. Most will likely tire of this one long before they finish.
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In one sense, it’s great to see a cancelled game emerge from the ruins, allowing players a new experience thought to be lost to time. But those waiting patiently for nine years will most likely come away from Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories disappointed. While occasionally stumbling across unique ideas that helped the series become a cult gem, most are stripped away and leave players feeling like a distant viewer, rather than a survivor of a disastrous event. A lack of meaningful gameplay, a nonsensical story that borders on offensive and unsatisfying decision-making leave the end result feeling lifeless and dull, only worsened by a serious lack of technical refinement. Perhaps this was one game best left in the rubble of it’s cancellation, as even the most interested of fans will likely come away disappointed.
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VERDICT
"Disaster Report 4 is short on meaningful gameplay, suffering from a nonsensical story and a lack of technical polish. Most damningly, it just isn’t much fun." OVERALL: 4/10 |