BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW – PS5 Review

I think when you put together a story about the dangers of social media, it can be tricky to walk the right line. BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW comes from Serafini Productions who think they’re on the right track with help from an actual influencer. Unfortunately, their involvement seems to undercut the prevalent message they’re trying to convey. It’s a lovely looking game but it lacks some tact and finesse.

BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW puts us in the insecure head-space of Anne. She’s a young girl fixated about her weight, popularity and a need to be successful. What she wants to be successful at is streaming. That allows actual influencer (yes, I’ll use that word) Akidearest to feature prominently in the story. From what I gather, she’s a vlogger from Japan and spends a lot of time running that content treadmill of talking to a camera and being overly positive for an audience that could turn on her at any minute.

All clear on that one? Well, the story doesn’t quite go for those punches. Yes, the parasocial weirdness Anne displays is bang on the money but I also don’t find Anne a character I want to root for. There’s some trauma thrown in there. Her mother is shown as overbearing and controlling. I’m not sure how much of that is Anne rejecting parental advice. It’s clear neither parent fancies her chances at becoming an internet celebrity but her mother is portrayed as genuinely malicious.

There’s the typical school bullying, largely focused around her appearance which ultimately ramps up when she starts to broadcast. This compulsion to make it big ruins her relationships and, to the game’s credit, I think it’s shown well. I do feel the bullying is toned down but, as with most psychological horror, you’re only really getting Anne’s warped perspective. She’s full of self-loathing and, when it comes time for introspection, it feels a little too clean.

Some of this is told through notes you can pick up throughout the game. Some are missable but, as most of them are from Anne’s perspective, I’m not sure what new you can gleam from them. I feel like her father barely gets a mention and the bullying she gets from her classmates can feel occasionally tame. Sure, from the victim’s standpoint, everything will sting but I feel like they’ve held back.

The performances are hit and miss. Anne sounds fine and her voice is the one you’ll hear the most. Anne’s mother is flamboyant, over the top and, as a villain, it fits. In the latter half, you’re introduced to Josh who delivers most of his lines without conviction. Compared to Anne’s emotional depth, he’s got nothing to bring to the table.

Some of the writing feels lazy and on the nose. Unfollow comes up plenty of times from the stream chat and there’s one moment near the end that made me groan. It’s very obvious Anne is the standard mopey teen but you only glimpses of the world around her. Even then, it’s from this unreliable window that I simply can’t trust.

Gameplay sticks to the horror corridor template of P.T. Or Layers of Fear. It’s a linear ghost ride with only minor moments to diverge. Puzzles are rarely roadblocks and I mostly spent time fetching items to progress. You do get confined to manageable areas and, when the scenery needs to shift, it does it with aplomb.  It does lead to a couple of decent scares, too.

There’s also a smattering of chase sequences which are less successful. These all take the same form of being lumbered after by a pursuer. There’s opportunities for basic stealth but very few areas truly take advantage of it. I also found the AI to be quite robotic. Two sections seemed to break their pathfinding for me and they effectively blocked the way forward. At least these sections are very short. At their best, you barely notice the strings being pulled and the level can just guide you to the next stopping point.

At their worst, the level design can be a touch disorienting and there were times where I was genuinely fumbling in the dark. There are some areas that allow you to manoeuvre the enemy out of your way but, the more maze-like escapes lack clear direction and I can see that providing frustration.  Once I realised how short these sequences were, the enemies carried little threat.

Despite that, I did see BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW to it’s conclusion. Whilst it may struggle with the subject matter, the visuals are incredibly striking. It begins making some ordinary locales look disturbed and off-kilter. School corridors are empty and foreboding, the family home’s basement seems to swallow our protagonist completely. The latter half journeys into something more abstract and is where I feel the game is showing a stylish confidence. Consequently, it becomes very disjointed.

It did feel like a game that was cramming stuff in for the sake of it. The infinity pools especially felt like they really didn’t belong. There’s shortcuts like undisclosed use of AI art which, whilst it doesn’t irk me especially, feels like an unnecessary step in what is supposed to be a creative medium.

Looking back on it, BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW lacks a cohesion and a compelling protagonist for me to truly get behind. Anne’s struggles are all so boiler plate and the inclusion of her social media obsession doesn’t add much. Akidearest’s involvement might have given the angle more credibility but even her words feel disingenuous. As beautiful as this game can look, it feels all over the place.