The Quiet Man – Critical

Human Head's incredible attempt to tell a story from the point of view of a deaf protagonist gives a much more accurate picture of half of the video than half of the game. His cinematics are technically competent – even impressive – to convey the emotions of characters without sound, but the story she tells is not inspired and third-person playable sequences are overly simplistic and repetitive. Sometimes, The Quiet Man seems to have been designed for network television, and the interactive elements are more of an afterthought.

The minimal use of sound by the Quiet Man actually adds tension, making it hard to look away from the screen for fear of missing an important point of the plot during the action sequences. The hero, Dane, exists in an almost silent environment with little or no audible dialogue. This creative choice forces you to focus on the facial expressions of the actors in order to interpret what they say in a given scene – and the actors do an exceptional job of transmitting their emotions. When someone talks to Dane, the only sounds are the bewitching and ethereal noises that let you know that he understands what is being said. We also get choked sound effects every time he hits a punch or a kick.

Regarding its history, The Quiet Man is familiar and sometimes uninspired. After a childhood of abuse and tragedy, Dane enters a life of crime and works as a bodyguard for one of the city's biggest crime bosses. In the typical Hollywood fashion, there is a forbidden love component, a damsel in distress and a group of stereotyped (often dark-skinned) ruffians who need a punch. I found myself becoming a better half-way lip reader, but I wanted the plot to be intelligently changed to make the effort worth it.

Instead, The Quiet Man distinguishes his live action scenes from a production quality that resembles a well-done TV episode – without sound, of course. His superb photography includes long shots of New York City streets and the intimate confines of a chic nightclub, and the only moments I felt captivated were in these beautifully designed cinematic moments.

I found myself crushing all the cookie cutter gangsters I encountered.

Things get worse as the cameras go out and you control Dane for third-person action. In the beginning, the close combat seemed tense and exciting, especially when you perform a perfect dodge or block and you follow it with a satisfactory movement of the idle finisher. However, the lack of extra moves and unlocking abilities meant that I was just crushing all the cookie cutter gangsters I encountered. Even during his short three-hour campaign, the number of times you have to fight the same terrifying villains is quickly becoming repetitive. There are some exciting boss fights that offer unique challenges because they are more powerful and agile than your average opponents, but that's not enough to carry out the game segments. Varied live action, most play environments are forgettable – after the third or fourth graffiti-covered hall or the dark alley, you've seen almost everything.

There is currently no reason to replay The Quiet Man once you're done, but the developers promise an update later this week that will allow you to turn the dialogue and audio muted to reveal what's going on. really happening. This may inspire you to play another role or at least watch these parts on YouTube. However, with a simple and sometimes predictable scenario, it is unlikely that audio improves it much, especially since the creative use of silence is what makes it the most interesting at the moment.