Primal (PlayStation 2)
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Published by

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Developed by

SCE Studio Cambridge

Released

Apr 11, 2003

Also For

PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 | Combined View

ESRB Rating

Genre

Perspective

Gameplay

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Description

Jen is the girlfriend of a metal rocker named Lewis, who have both been through rough times in the past together. A strange and powerful creature attacks Lewis after a concert and runs off into the night with him, leaving Jen injured and near-death.

Jen meets a short gargoyle named Scree, who informs her that she must leave the physical plane Mortalis and accompany him to the demon plane Oblivion. The creature who kidnapped Lewis and left her for dead is an agent of Abaddon who represents Chaos and has been locked in struggle for aeons with Arella, representing Order. The balance between Chaos and Order has been upset and it is Jen's task to restore the balance, all the while hoping to discover the whereabouts of Lewis.

Primal can be described as a "3D platformer", being somewhat similar in its basic gameplay mechanics to Tomb Raider games. Puzzle-solving and action-based combat constitute the focus of the gameplay. The player can switch between Jen and Scree at any time; Jen is capable of fighting, but Scree is invulnerable to enemy attacks. When Jen is incapacitated in combat, Scree must quickly restore her to life within a time limit; failure to do so prematurely ends the game.

Combat is heavily based on "finishing moves" and Jen's ability to transform into demonic forms. There are four demons Jen can merge herself with; they are obtained one by one as the game's narrative advances. These demonic forms allow Jen to use special abilities, which include jumping to extreme heights, unnaturally fast swimming, slowing down time, and using powerful weapons.

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Screenshots

There are no PlayStation 2 user screenshots for this game.

There are 20 other screenshots from other versions of this game or official promotional screenshots.

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Promo Images

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Alternate Titles

"Saints (セインツ) 聖なる魔物" -- Japanese spelling
"Saints: Seinaru Mamono" -- Japanese title

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Part of the Following Groups

User Reviews

Amazing technology and production values, but some parts weren't completely thought out.	Trixter (9114)

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Critic Reviews

Svenska PSW (PlayStation World)	2003	9 out of 10	90
Gamers.at	May 02, 2003	88 out of 100	88
4Players.de	Apr 09, 2003	83 out of 100	83
Defunct Games	Apr 25, 2003	77 out of 100	77
GameSpy	Apr 03, 2003	75 out of 100	75
PSX Extreme	Apr 18, 2003	7.5 out of 10	75
Game Informer Magazine	May, 2003	6 out of 10	60
GamePro (US)	Mar 24, 2003	3 out of 5	60
Game Revolution	Apr, 2003	C+	58
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Apr 11, 2003	5 out of 10	50

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Trivia

Oblivion

The four demon realms of Oblivion (and their occupants) are based around the four classical elements: Earth (Solum/Ferai), Water (Aquis/Undine), Air (Aetha/Wraith) and Fire (Volca/Djinn).

References

Before battling a guard early on in the world Aetha, Jen says "Hold it, Xena!" (in the English version). In that version she is voiced by Hudson Leick, known for playing the role of Callisto, Xena's arch-nemesis, on the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess..
When Jen acquires her Wraith form, she destroys a headstone inscribed Lara Croft 2003, referring to the protagonist of the Tomb Raider series.

Soundtrack

The game contains music tracks by rock band 16 Volt. Some of the tracks presented in the game are:

Alkali
At the End (during credits)
Blessed
Happy Pill
Suffering You

Most of the combat tracks are taken from the album SuperCoolNothing V2.0. The band also does a cameo in the game, playing in the club in the opening cut-scene.

The other music, the cinematic tracks, are composed by Andrew Barnabas and performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. A suite dedicated to its music was performed at the historic Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig 2003.