Rendezvous [Game Review]

Pixel art! Even when you have high-end visually gorgeous games like Elden Ring or The Last of Us Part 2, there’s just something so charming about visuals that harken to a simpler time of gaming. That’s why when Rendezvous was announced several years ago, our little wings here at Honey’s Anime started to vibrate with excitement! Set in a sci-fi setting, Rendezvous looked like Blade Runner melded with Out of this World and that sounds like an award-winning combo! We finally got our hands on Rendezvous but was it worth the long wait? We find out together in our review of Rendezvous for the PC!

In Rendezvous, players assume the role of Setyo, a seemingly normal security guard who quickly reveals his past is filled with secrets due to his former life as a Criminal Agent. When an incident occurs involving his sister and a seedy cyber-runner group, Setyo must join forces with a former ally and return to a life he had hoped to leave far behind.

The tale of Rendezvous isn’t anything you probably haven’t seen before if you’re a huge sci-fi fan but it creates a nice atmosphere for the world of Rendezvous and if you add the Indonesian flair thrown in, the world becomes even more unique. This isn’t like the traditional future landscapes you’re probably used to as the world of Rendezvous feels far from our own current era but is littered with realistic themes of body image issues, poverty versus rich, and control vs freedom. Those who love to soak in gaming environments will no doubt really take pleasure in getting lost and just trying to scour the lands Setyo lives in to understand his world. With that being said, the story and setting are one of the better parts of Rendezvous but how’s the gameplay? That is where the title gets a little less exciting.

Rendezvous has a retro art style and the gameplay kind of mirrors it. Setyo is a capable agent so that means he has some skills normal folks don’t possess. Capable of hacking, fighting, and sneaking around, Setyo is pretty much a spy in the future. The gameplay aspects of Rendezvous follow Setyo’s abilities and it comes off as okay at best. Hacking is usually just simple mini-games of moving lasers around via turn-able switches, sneaking—which works sometimes and other times doesn’t—has Setyo “quietly” move around to avoid being spotted and combat…is Setyo either punching frantically at enemies or using various weapons he gains possession of.

Rendezvous never failed to keep us engaged but equally after the first hour of similar puzzles and punching enemies, we kind of wish just a bit more time was taken in the gameplay department. It gets the job done, but don’t expect the gameplay to revolutionize the industry.

Probably what will hook people quickly—and it worked on us honestly—is the visuals for Rendezvous. As we mentioned a few times already, Rendezvous is a pixel art-inspired game but it does a fantastic job with that medium! From flying cars in the background to neon lights flaring in and out, developer Pendopo Creations should take pride in how gorgeous their indie darling looks! We really just were floored during some of the more intense moments of Rendezvous and that kept us from wanting to put our controllers down!

We need to make this clear, we aren’t voice actor critics here at Honey’s Anime. We may have dabbled with it here and there but we are a group that loves both dub and sub as they are different ways to experience our favorite medium, anime! That being said, Rendezvous probably should have opted out of any voice acting and kept the entire title muted. When the music plays, Rendezvous is stellar and that’s why we are so happy it has a soundtrack you can buy from the STEAM store page!

Unfortunately, there are some voice-acted moments in Rendezvous and they come across as almost comical. Trust us though, we have heard way worse voice acting in both video games and anime but yeah…not every game should have voice acting is where we will leave this comment at.