Review: FULL QUIET is an ambitious return to NES gaming

Complete silence is an 8-bit survival game full of combat and puzzles. It was released last year on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox (affiliate link) with an upcoming release on NES. The game is developed by Retrotainment Games and published by 8-Bit Legit. The team was kind enough to provide me with a review copy of the game for Nintendo Switch, but all thoughts below are my own.

Out here, static is the enemy…

Lose yourself in this thrilling and mysterious open-world adventure as you encounter strange creatures, solve puzzles, and discover how to restore the radio network to find your missing son. Search for clues along the way and manage your resources as you decode the secrets of Full Quiet.

Your puzzle-solving, combat and survival skills will be put to the test… Do you have what it takes to silence the forest and drive out those who have emerged into our world?

This game is interesting. If you have a passion for classic NES games where you need the manual to really get anywhere and the gameplay is quite challenging, you’ll want to consider Complete silence. It definitely feels ambitious and while I couldn’t finish playing, others have reported that it takes around 20 hours to complete. That’s pretty incredible for an NES title. Let’s dive a little deeper though.

Visually, the game looks solid for the most part. There were a couple of instances where the background looked a little off because some of it scrolled as I moved and other parts didn’t, but overall I feel like it’s very well done. Sonically, the game has beautiful music and sound effects that help build the atmosphere and create a sense of pressure and isolation.

The story of Complete silence you’re looking for your son after some creatures that I guess are aliens appear. It’s something where to get a better picture of the story, you’ll want to consult the manual just like the old NES games. I honestly have no problem with the story. There’s mystery, desperation, and in my opinion, the little bits and pieces you pick up as you play really help move things forward.

Now let’s talk about Complete silencethe game. One of the aspects of the game that was most confusing to me at first was navigating the world. Left, right, up and down don’t always correspond to the map and it took me a minute to figure that out. In the lower left corner there will be a letter indicating which cardinal direction you are facing and which corresponds to the map. Once I understood this, things started to make a lot more sense as I tried to navigate the world. Overall, I thought it was an interesting and unique way to expand the map. I also liked the various ham radio and circuit puzzles. For some puzzles you will need to be familiar with Morse code, but luckily the manual contains a guide for Morse code. This brings us to the first real negative about it Complete silence Although.

In the digital version of Complete silence, press a button to access the in-game manual. This is not the worst thing in the world, except in two respects. First, the Morse code guide is necessary, but it is quite cumbersome to use effectively. You need to memorize parts of the message, consult the code guide, write down the letter, and then repeat until you have decoded the message. It’s doable, but clunky. Alternatively, you could use your phone or computer to call up a morse code guide, but in my opinion I want the game to provide me with all the necessary tools in a non-clumsy way. The other problem is that the manual is a great place to put notes. However, it is not possible to take notes in the digital manual that I was able to find. Of course, this can be remedied by having a notebook or note-taking app available, but again, I would have preferred the game to provide everything I needed. I will say this is a minor issue as anyone who buys the full NES version in the box will receive a physical manual and both of these issues will be alleviated.

The controls for Complete silence they also require some discussion. As I said before, the game is very ambitious. You can walk, jump, shoot, roll and reload. You can grab ledges to crawl on, and if you’re quick enough, you can grab a ledge or pole and swing forward. Unfortunately, the controls were frustrating for me for these two actions. To grab the ledge, you need to press Up in mid-air to grab it and then Up again to climb up. To swing forward, you have to “maintain forward momentum” and so you have a very small window of opportunity after grabbing a ledge to press A again. This was very frustrating for me and perhaps my biggest complaint.

Another note about the controller is not a complaint, but a curiosity. On Nintendo Switch, Complete silence uses the D-pad, four face buttons, plus, minus and two triggers. How will all this translate to the NES which has a D-pad, two face buttons, Start and Select. That’s significantly fewer input options, so I’m a little worried that the controls will become too cumbersome. I hope it translates well.

Complete silence It’s not a game for everyone. My wife started playing with it and she stopped almost immediately. However, what she sets out to do, she does well. The game looks great for 8-bit, sounds great for 8-bit, and the overall gameplay is pretty solid. I’m still on the fence about going back and finishing it, but I know there are people who will legitimately love this game. I liked the variety of puzzles and the combat was fine (simple side scrolling shooter, nothing to write home about). If you want an NES game that refers you to the manual and experiences addictive gameplay like the old days, you’ll probably enjoy playing Complete silence. Digital copies are only $10, which I think is fair if you’re that target audience. If you’re more on the fence, I’d say wait for a sale and then grab it.