Fubo: Threads Astray

A fun and exciting take on the immersive sim. Fubo: Threads Astray combines a rich narrative with engaging gameplay. The story, told through mostly dialogue with a "colorful" cast of characters, has inner monologues from Fubo peppered in which serve to deepen our connection with the main character and understand his struggles on his journey to confront the main villain (spoilers). Enhancing this is the game's puzzles, the challenge of which involves deep exploration of the map and requires making connections with both the needs of certain characters and area descriptions. These puzzles serve to further place the player in Fubo's shoes, making our struggles one and the same, and makes the storytelling much more effective at conveying the value of Fubo's headband.

For all its virtues however, the game isn't without faults. For one, the limited color palette makes some areas hard to navigate (I'm looking at you Larry). An interview with the game developer has revealed that the famous out of bounds glitch was originally going to be solved with a wall sectioning off the loading zones. This, however, was burdened by the visibility; the loading zones were obscured and hard to find. The lack of an inventory also makes managing the items you find somewhat of a pain, though it does bring to mind the exploration games of old requiring a pen and paper to keep track of their adventures. Especially egregious was the duplication bug. Having 2 Fubos on the screen (not counting the statue) really takes you out and completely ruins any suspension of disbelief. As a personal grievance, I wish talking to Larry and the Chillbug Shopkeep was required for progression as they turned out to be some of my favorite characters.

Overall, Fubo: Threads Astray gets a 8.6/10. If you can ignore the flaws, which is in fact very easy, what you get is a wonderful little indie game full of life and clear passion. The developer's sense of humor is unmatched by most modern games and the story will tug at your emotions every which way, keeping you at the edge of your seat until the finale. Fubo's inner monologues also offer a ton of insight about the nature of life and what it means to enjoy it in a world with little strife.