Developed by a small team, Neo Harbor Rescue Squad atypical offers a series of mini-games which follow one another in medical rescue missions. It evokes memories of Trauma Centerwhile offering a lighter and more accessible experience.
Scare… the dolphin?
We play the role of a beginner first aider embarked on emergency interventions, often incredible. Unfortunately, the lack of translation can hold back some non-English speaking players, especially since certain technical terms require a little understanding. This doesn’t prevent you from playing too much (I personally ended up skipping the whole narration, even if it’s fun), because the interface is quite clear, but it’s still a shame.
The tutorial is not always clear. Several mini-games require you to grasp mechanics quickly, but the explanations are indicated a little too discreetly at the bottom left of the screen, and you can lose a few seconds interpreting them. For example, a phase involving using the triggers to bandage gave me a hard time at first. Once the logic is understood, it becomes instinctive, fortunately, and we quickly understood that we had to take a look at the bottom of the screen for each new mini-game.
Because yes, the heart of Neo Harbor Rescue Squad is based on a series of mini-games related to medical interventions. Between cardiac massages, defibrillations, cleaning burns or even applying bandages or splints, the gameplay surprises with its variety. Each task requires speed (hence the harm suffered with each new game of having to understand how it works) and a sense of observation, while remaining very simple to learn.
The pace is sustained, and the interface encourages us to chain the gestures. This creates a pleasant tension, even if certain mechanics prove repetitive in the long run. Fortunately, the game encourages you to manage emergencies, each injured person requires different care, and you will often have to quickly treat a person to save time before moving on to another seriously injured person, then returning to the first to complete the treatment. You also have to move from one room to another, to manage different emergencies, or to provide care for the same person, which means that after a while, the pace becomes quite frantic and will ask you to do the right choices, even if it only really impacts your score in the end.
The game draws its charm from its rather offbeat approach despite somewhat generic visuals. In addition to the rivalries and relationships with other services or the sometimes crazy emergency situations that punctuate the narrative, one of the first teammates we meet is… a talking dolphin. This eccentricity brings a touch of humor which contrasts with the seriousness of medical interventions. It also shows that Neo Harbor Rescue Squad doesn’t take itself too seriously, making it a perfect game for short, casual sessions.
The game’s main flaw lies in its repetitiveness. Although the mini-games are quite varied and new ones arrive fairly regularly, the mechanics remain similar from one intervention to another. This risks quickly tiring players over long sessions. Additionally, the lack of a solid storyline limits long-term interest. We would have liked a slightly more constructed narrative to link the different missions and feel involved. As I said, for my part, I go through the scenario at high speed.
Another downside already mentioned: the absence of localization in French. While I can understand that this is the result of the team’s limited resources, it remains regrettable. A translation would have made the experience more accessible to a wider audience.
