Primal

Primal tells the story of Jennifer Tate, a 21-year-old woman who traverses a series of demon worlds in search of her boyfriend. As the story unfolds, you learn more about Jennifer's past and her relationship with her boyfriend, as well as the nature of the demon worlds. In Primal, the player can control either Jen or Scree as they move through the realms of Oblivion. As the game progresses, you'll obtain new demon forms that will prove invaluable in solving various puzzles and in combat. Control can be switched between Jen and Scree at any time. When you have control over one of them, the other is controlled by the AI, which takes on different functions depending on the situation. During the game, the characters can interact with each other and carry out actions such as asking questions or tapping energy. As Jen, the player can transform into one of four demonic forms depending on the situation (assuming the forms are unlocked). In demon form, Jen gains a boost in attack, defense, speed, attack range, and access to abilities not available in human form. The tattoo on Jen's back also glows when she has a demon form that matches the different forms. To defeat enemies, they must be weakened to the point where their hit points drop to zero. Then a finishing move must be performed to kill the enemy. The moves differ in style and time required, but the end effect remains the same. Enemies can be finished off before their health points drop to zero, leaving more energy. Jen can stay in her demonic form indefinitely, but when she takes damage, her health drops. However, the hit points here are represented by demonic energy. When an enemy is killed, the remaining energy can be drained by using Scree, who can store the energy when it is needed. Jen can then access the energy and tap it to replenish her own. Scree can store a huge amount of energy, but it also has a limited capacity. When the player has control of Scree, he is invulnerable; since Scree is a gargoyle, he cannot take damage, making him an effective scout. Scree can climb stone walls, a necessary ability when traversing the realms. Scree can also store energy from dead enemies, which he can use to replenish Jen's demonic health. Scree turns out to be the long-lost Abdizur, who disappeared after an encounter with the Ruler of Chaos. In Solus, the player temporarily possesses a life-sized statue of Abdizur via Scree to fight Belhazur when Jen is unable to do so. Under certain circumstances, the player can also take possession of other statues in an area. The player may also come across various energy crystals that can be stored and used when Scree's energy reserves are low and the player is low on health. These crystals are kept throughout the game, except when you visit earlier scenes, in which case they are reduced to a standard amount. This means that the crystals function like extra lives to some extent. When Jen is in human form, her health automatically replenishes when she is not in combat (only in human form; demon energy must be replenished either by Scree's reserves or, failing that, by a crystal). When Jen is in human form, her health is equal to her presence in the demon world. If she loses all her health while in human form, she will be returned to the human world, where she will be in a state close to death. When this happens, the player must guide Scree to the nearest rift gate within a time limit (which is not shown on the screen, but Arella's voice warns the player that time is running out). If Scree does not reach a rift gate in time, Jen dies and the game is over. As the game progresses, the constant saving can be tedious, especially if the player wants to go back and revisit certain areas. If there is a save game, the player can revisit almost all locations once they have been unlocked through an in-game cutscene.