Robots at Midnight review

Robots at Midnight makes an immediate impression with its attractive art style that resembles a CG animated film. The game’s environments showcase everything from crumbling industrial wastelands to neon-drenched, cloud-filled skies that are largely rendered with rich detail. As such, there’s a strong sense of atmosphere, as Zoe, the game’s plucky protagonist smashes through bands of corrupted automatons, as she searches for her father.

Regrettably, Midnight’s gameplay struggles to match the strength of the game’s artistry. Combat, which drives much of the adventure, becomes stuck in repetitive loop. Standard encounters use only a handful of different enemy types. Fights also rely on the same basic dodge-and-strike rhythm with your Mobile Impulse Traversal Technology (“MITT”), a glove that’s been reengineered as a weapon. Sure, battles are briefly appealing, as you evade or parry before dishing out a basic combo. But developer Finish Line Games neglects to add much tactical depth to the formula, making Zoe’s journey feel tedious.

Parry, Dodge, Repeat

Boss battles attempt to add intensity, but they too fall into predictable patterns. The spectacle of fighting hulking machines looks impressive, but the underlying mechanics don’t extend past beyond memorizing attack animations and countering with Zoe’s same handful of moves. Instead of developing alongside the game’s narrative, the action feels stagnant, making Midnight’s later hours feel more like an obligation rather than a stirring sprint toward the conclusion.

This repetitiveness is even more noticeable because effort was poured into crafting a sense of atmosphere. Imagined as once-luxurious planet that has tumbled into decay, Midnight pushes players across an evocatively designed dystopian planet. But all too often, it feels like the game is merely funneling you toward the next battle, instead of delivering a cautionary tale about the dangers of extravagance. Perhaps narration might have helped things. But woefully, the lack of any kind of voice acting further diminishes the impact of the game’s exposition. At least, there’s Doug, a robotic dog. But even he feels like the obligatory sidekick that offers some mild comic relief.

Tunes That Do the Emotional Lifting

Robots at Midnight boasts an evocative soundtrack, which does help highlight the sense of atmosphere. Pleasingly, there’s variety, from an understated ambient score when Zoe is dashing across derelict landscapes and swelling electronic beats that match the energy of combat. This range helps create contrast between moments of desolation and the sudden appearance of threats, giving the game’s minimalistic storytelling a slight assist.

Robots at Midnight’s visual design and soundtrack are adept, but its gameplay succumbs to repetition and a lack of meaningful progression. While its environments and haunting mood help to set the stage, the shallow combat and absence of engaging narrative means the focus is on the backdrops. If you appreciate mechanical depth or narrative richness, then you’ll probably interest waning long before Zoe’s journey reaches its end.