Meridian 157: Prologue review

Meridian 157: Prologue isn't a proper game as much as it is a taste of a game. Presumably the first part of a much longer experience, this adventure game ends on a cliffhanger that you can reach within a single sitting. On the plus side, Meridian 157 is completely free, so there's no harm in trying it out.

Map of mystery

In Meridian 157, you play as David Zander, a metorologist investigating a weather anomaly on a mysterious island. Just as strangely, the game begins with Zander waking up at his desk with the power out in his office.

The game controls quite a bit like The Room or any of its many knock offs. You tap on static scenes to move between them or get a closer look at points of interest, and you collect and combine items to help you solve puzzles along the way.

Ambient adventure

Also just like The Room-like games, Meridian 157 is an isolated experience. Zander doesn't interact with much of anything except inanimate objects. What makes this game somewhat unique though is its sense of scale.

Despite being a pretty short game, Meridian 157 actually feels like it could be a grand adventure. Where other games of this ilk detain you to a specific location or building, early moments of this game have you taking a boat ride from your office to the mysterious island. It feels like a small touch, but it makes Meridian 157 feel somewhat more ambitious as a result.

Short of scary

As mentioned previously, Meridian 157 has "prologue" appended to it for a reason. After perhaps an hour or so with the game, it ends. It's story isn't over though. Meridian 157 seems to have plans to add more to Zander's story, and this game only operates to generate interest.

At least that's what it's supposed to do. Unfortunately, Meridian 157 is perhaps a bit too short to really sell me on it. I'm into the idea of investigating a meteorological anomaly, but by the end of this teaser I don't know much more about it than I did when I started the game. I don't want to complain too much about this because Meridian 157 is completely free (no ads or IAPS), but still. I wish the game teased me a little more before it ended.

The bottom line

Meridian 157: Prologue is a bite-sized portion of what could shape up to be a great The Room-like. The only problem is, there's almost too little of it to tell whether it can do something interesting with its premise. For a free (and short) game, Meridian 157: Prologue is worth looking into, but the jury still seems out for if its next chapters will be fulfilling.