rimal is an action-adventure game with a third-person view that shows off Jen, one of the two lead characters, to her best halter-wearing, barebacked advantage. In fact, Primal has an RPG feel to it, because the cutscenes are so numerous and the character models are so large and detailed. Nor is Jen's bare back pure titillation (as opposed to her covered front), because it reveals her tattoo, which not only is part of the mystery of the game, but also serves as an indication of her health.
The other controllable character in Primal is Scree, a living stone gargoyle. A single button switches the player back and forth between controlling Jen and Scree. They have limitations based on their shapes. For example, Scree can climb stonework walls, but his wings keep him from shimmying along ledges as Jen can. Jen does most of the fighting, using a video-game martial-arts style (including combos), but Scree (when properly charged up) can possess other statues, and some of those make formidable fighters. Jen can't take over statues, but as the game progresses she discovers that she can take various demon forms, and each of these has its own abilities and limitations.
Fighting is just one of the challenges, as the two characters must also explore and problem and solve puzzles. Jen is from our world, but Scree leads her spirit from her body and into the four different demon realms. In each, Chaos is overstepping its traditional roles and threatening to destroy the whole multiverse. In each realm, Scree is never completely sure what has gone wrong, so the two must first play detective before they can figure out whose ass to kick.
Dialogue that enhances the drama
After Jen and the graphics that show her off, the next thing a player notices about Primal is the voices. Jen's is done by Hudson Leicke, who played Callisto on TV's Xena and Hercules. The stone gargoyle Scree is voiced by Andreas Katsulas, who played G'kar on Babylon 5. These two actors are a full cut above the talent commonly used to voice video games, and their portrayal of the characters really enhances Primal. It helps that the writers gave Hudson and Andreas some good material to work with. The dialogue does a great job of showing Jen's growth from bewildered tourist to hardened warrior, and it shows how Scree's impatience with his charge changes to real affection. Along the way both characters get off some very funny lines.
The look and sound of the game are top-notch, and the gameplay is almost their equal. The only negative thing players may find is how numerous the fights are. The player gets caught up in the plot and wants to hurry from location to location to complete the necessary quests, but along the routes Jen and Scree keep encountering guards and monsters, all itching for a fight. The good news here is that because the game engine uses a "lock-on" targeting mode in the fights, it is possible to simply have Jen and Scree run past some of (but not all) of the menaces.
Overall, Primal is a refreshing take on some very old ideas, with more drama and many more laughs than most games on the shelf. Its controls are varied without being demanding, and its puzzles are interesting without being too difficult. It is just a whole lot more fun than most games in its genre.
I played most of Primal with my 5-year-old son at my side, and often with him controlling the characters. Being 5, he wanted play live-action Primal as well; I found gloves to stand in for Jen's bracers and a temporary tattoo for his back, but I drew the line at the halter.
— Eric
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