Breathedge Review – PS5

Don’t forget to choke the chicken

Comedy in games isn’t something that’s often done well. I’m a hard nut to crack when it comes to jokes, and I typically see through a joke before the punchline has landed. In movies and TV, this is OK because you expect the joke and there’s a human connection – you’re typically watching one or more characters interacting, and somebody within that dynamic is going to be the butt of the joke. The roastee, if you will.

In a video game, you’re typically the one getting roasted, and nobody really likes that in real life. Couple that with the instant disconnect that comes with knowing the people you see on screen are not actually humans, just bits of code that have been arranged to look like one, and the humour loses some of that spark.

Game Information
Release Date: February 25th, 2022 (PS5)
Developer: RedRuins Softworks
Publisher: HypeTrain Digital (Digital) & Perp Games (Retail)
Availability: Microsoft Store, PSN, Steam, Retail – EU Only (Amazon UK)

Now, comedy lecture out of the way – I could literally spend hours talking about jokes, hit me up if you want more – I found Breathedge managed to get it right more often than it got it wrong. And it did fall flat at times and fell into tropes that I’ve got no time for, but like any half-decent comedian, Breathedge starts its act with a strong opening. If you haven’t laughed out loud within the first five minutes, put the game away. It’s not going to be for you.

I won’t spoil all the fun but just know that if a grizzled, tired old man like me can be made to literally LOL, then Breathedge is a truly funny game.

But this isn’t just a comedy. It’s a survival game where you’re a Man (that’s literally what you’re called – Man) who is stuck in space after a disaster. You’re the last one alive. Well, you and your Grandpa’s immortal chicken. That poor, feathery little bugger will go through the mill if you’re playing the game right, and it’s always funny to watch the poor sod get what he doesn’t really deserve.

The story goes that a giant spaceship has crashed and it looks like you’re the only one left alive. The spaceship is owned and operated by a corporation that deals with funerals, so there’s lots of death in the air. Or should I say, in the void of space? And of course, being that a corporation is involved, there’s a conspiracy to uncover because money-grubbing corporate bastards are always up to no good.

But Breathedge isn’t a true story game. Well, it is, I suppose, but it’s a survival game first and foremost; it just so happens to have a really well-written and funny tale surrounding it.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “ugh, another survival game… We already have Minecraft, Rust, ARK, and all the others, what’s different?”

That would be a fair assessment with a fair question. I’m not a survival game lover, believe you me, but Breathedge is different. Yes, you have to gather resources, craft items, find blueprints for new stuff – the standard survival stuff. But in the cold, dark void of space. And rather than going it alone, you’ve got your in-suit A.I robot voice thing to keep you company and provide hints, as well as the constant text messages from your sweetheart, Babe, who seems to want you dead.

Told across six chapters, Breathedge takes you from the relative safety of your opening hub and the small surrounding area right the way through to crafting your own space station of sorts, and the journey from being an idiot who knows nothing to a pro who knows how to craft a ray gun is a fun one.

Managing health, food, water, and oxygen is all part of the loop, too, and the game rewards you for poking around its many places of interest by upgrading your gear and making your expeditions out into the cold graveyard a little easier, though I never felt 100% at ease. There was always the chance I would miscalculate how much oxygen I had left, and early on in my playthrough, I snuffed it after not carrying enough backup oxygen tanks with me. You live, you die, you learn.

It’s not without its downfalls, mind you. For one, crafting is easy, but getting the parts you need can be a royal pain in the backside if you don’t know where to look. The in-game voice guide often spews out information at lightning speed, so it’s easy to miss out on vital details. This is true for the objectives, too, and there were more than a few occasions where I was stumped on what I should be doing, or more accurately, how I should be going about my task.

Despite my occasional frustrations, I was rarely tempted to turn the game off and do something else, aside from one early misstep with the game’s save and autosave system causing me to lose an hour of progress. That annoyed me, but by that point, I was already charmed by the game’s humour, and I actually looked forward to seeing if there were any gags I missed the first time around.

On the technical side, Breathedge looks great and plays really well, though you will notice some unfortunate graphical glitches and low detail moments. Occasionally, I’d see objects nearby flickering, which isn’t that big a deal and is easily overlooked. But once the game opens up and you’re a couple of chapters in, you’ll also notice far-off asteroids looking like they were moulded from clay rather than being high-quality digital space rocks. This resolves as you get closer, but it’s still an unfortunate thing to see and it did pull me back to Earth. Given that the game has many self-referential jokes, with some particularly good self-burns aimed at the developers, I’m a little disappointed they didn’t manage to slip in a self-roast about these low-detail moments. Maybe on the next one?

I certainly hope there is a next one because Breathedge is my favourite survival game and you should definitely give it a go. You can do nasty things to a chicken and pee wherever you want. What’s not to like?

Review Disclaimer: This review was carried out using a copy of the game provided by the publisher. For more information, please read our Review Policy.

Primary version tested: PS5