Prim (Review)

There’s something undeniable about hand-drawn adventure games, after all. Who can resist a few hours in a beautifully drawn piece of art? This is especially true in point and click games, which give you so much opportunity to really engage in the world around you. It’s no surprise that - with hand-painted graphics and the promise of “creepy but cute,” rolled up into a classic point-and-click adventure game - Prim had me interested the moment I saw it. 

Prim is the newest release developed by Common Colors and Application Systems Heidelberg - a publisher known for plenty of other visually stunning and moving adventures (LUNA The Shadow Dust, Growbot, Mutropolis). That should already tell you plenty about its quality, and I gladly accepted a review key with no questions asked because I’ve genuinely never been disappointed by an ASH game before. 

Prim’s premise is a simple, but heartfelt one: 15-year old Prim’s mother has just passed away. Never knowing her father, Prim and her mother were close and the loss is deep. Thankfully she’s been taken in by her best friend Tristan’s family. That is, until her father decides it’s time to step up and step in. But it turns out Prim’s remaining parent isn’t quite alive either… Prim’s father, in fact, is actually Death. The one, the only, and the supernatural. 

Unfortunately the grim reaper is about as prepared as one can expect to be a father (that is, not at all), and Prim’s loneliness and discomfort in the Realm of the Dead are simply too much. When she finds a way to escape back to the land of the living, another tragic event takes place, leading Prim on a journey to right her accidental wrongs, learn about the other world she belongs to, and maybe even forge a real connection with her dad. 

I will admit I had some preconceived expectations when I started Prim, because I’m so used to games that advertise a “cute but creepy” concept also trying to be edgy - sometimes a little too much. Instead, I was really impressed by just how surprisingly fun, lighthearted, and wholesome Prim really ended up being. It wasn’t at all what I expected, and the whole experience was kind of delightful. 

There’s a small cast of supporting characters in the game, and Prim will need to get to know them all to succeed. From forbidden lovers to a locked-away damsel, it turns out a lot of folks in the Realm of the Dead need a little bit of help and Prim might just be the one to provide it. 

Players familiar with these types of point and click games should recognize the gameplay right away - there aren’t really any wonky mechanics to learn. The game plays like a traditional point and click adventure - you can investigate things and combine items as needed. Some nice quality of life touches include fireflies that can highlight all interactive areas and a diary that occasionally is able to give hints and puzzle solutions if you’re really in a pinch. 

One fresh mechanic though is the game of “casketball.” Denizens of the Realm of the Dead love casketball, and many of them play it. In order to play, you’ll need a deck of 8 cards. In a match, each player has 8 cards, and the player whose turn it is has to choose between four attributes on their current card in play. If the chosen attribute is better than that of their opponent, they gain the card and get another turn. If it’s not as good, they lose their card and their opponent’s turns begin. Each time a player wins, they’ll move a little closer to the goal - the first player to reach it wins. 

I can’t lie - I usually am not the biggest fan of additional minigames. A lot of times they feel tacked on. I was fully prepared to try to get out of the need to play casketball by losing until the game let me proceed. But the honest truth is casketball is weirdly fun - even more so as you start getting additional cards and get to prep your deck more. In the end I beat every opponent fair and square and had an actually fun time doing it. It’s easy to learn the rules and the luck factor makes it a little more exciting than going in knowing for sure what will happen. 

But in the end, I think what I enjoyed most about Prim was the story. The entire game isn’t really about loss - it’s about growth. Prim has to face the unknown, without her mother for the first time, to do what she knows is right. Death has to learn how to be a father to a teenage half-human. Other characters have to learn to accept one another, or how to charm their lover’s family members, or how to believe in themselves. 

It’s a fun little story that feels magical to progress through and satisfying to see the end of. For fans of point and click adventures, Prim definitely is a great fit. The classic gameplay, fun puzzle solutions, and the addition of casketball all help add a great layer of fun to a story that will leave you feeling a little bit better. With full voice acting and beautifully drawn art, Prim comes together so well. Overall, this is a game I’d feel comfortable recommending to anyone who enjoys point and click adventures, and it’s a game I’d love to play again after I’ve forgotten some of the puzzle solutions. 

Overall Rating: 9/10

Pick up Prim today on Steam!