petethepanda
Member
We're definitely told a lot about her but it never really seemed like we actually saw much of it. The "press X to sit and reflect" moments scattered throughout are one of my absolute favorite aspects of the series, but looking back they also kind of sum up what disappointed me most about the game narratively, being simply told about Max's feelings instead of actually seeing how things affect her. I can't recall a specific example, but it often felt like instead of seeing Max feel something, we just got voiceover saying "I feel this."
I guess a lot of this plays into animation and voice acting as well. The facial animation was pretty lackluster throughout (as janky as Telltale's "snapping from one position to the next" facial transitions are, you're at least shown a wide range of emotions), and Max's voice acting felt kind of... distant. It was a good performance but I'm not sure it was the one the character needed, a more expressive one may have sold the character a bit better for me.
I do think the writing was strong overall, though, I certainly don't spend this much time thinking about this stuff with the vast majority of games. Easily one of the best sci-fi stories of the year, surprisingly willing to put its characters through the frigging wringer, deals with heavy themes and issues with a maturity not found in many games, etc. I just wound up thinking that Max was kind of a weak link.
