Reception
According to Metacritic, Fahrenheit received generally favourable reviews by critics. Executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumière claimed it was the highest-rated in its genre since Grim Fandango (1998) and considered the release a commercial success, with over one million copies sold. It was named the best adventure game of 2005 by Computer Games Magazine, GameSpy, PC Gamer, and IGN; Adventure Gamers ranked it fifty-seventh of all time. Game Informer listed Fahrenheit last among ten video game openings.
Garnett Lee of 1Up.com praised the "disturbing" and graceful nature of the story as well as its combination with the gameplay, saying Fahrenheit had set a new standard for future aims of doing so. GameSpot's Alex Navarro highlighted the layers of context and "heartfelt meaning" to its use of cinematic gameplay. He enjoyed the narrative, dubbing it "deep, captivating", and, echoing Lee, "disturbing". The character development, art style, voice acting, and music also saw approval from Navarro. Raymond M. Padilla at GameSpy declared that "it's so good that it just might save a dying genre", regarding the plot and main characters to be well-written and the voice cast as one of the best of the year. The controls were admired for their accessibility, while the score was complimented for its "moody and captivating" qualities. Writing for GameZone, Ronnie Hobbs liked that the controls helped with narrative immersion, and that this created an emotional connection to the characters. Hobbs' verdict read: "Despite its flaws, Indigo Prophecy is the definitive interactive story, and not only does it perfect the genre, it redefines it". Charles Onyett, reviewing the game for IGN, thought it succeeded in its effort to provide a movie-like experience. The feature of multiple playable characters was believed to have worked well, the action choreography and voice acting impressed him, and the soundtrack was described as gripping.
Conversely, Lee expressed dislike to the "rather weakly implemented Metal Gear Solid-like stealth sections" and Fahrenheit's final third, which he perceived to be rushed. Navarro agreed with Lee on the ending and sneak sequences, criticising the former for its incoherent aspects and latter because it lacked engagement, matching the reason he disapproved of the puzzles. Additionally, Navarro complained that the graphics were unsightly. Padilla disparaged the PC version for being worse than its console counterparts, calling the keyboard and mouse setup "not fun". He noted that button commands would sometimes distract from on-screen events. As with Navarro, Padilla termed the graphics an "undeniable flaw". Hobbs found it difficult to endure the "awkward" camera angles and "questionable" character movements. Onyett noticed the same control problem, opining that this could become "difficult and tedious". He was displeased with the effects of playing on a computer and, like Lee and Navarro, took issue with the last portions of the game. Onyett chastised the graphics' "fuzzy" edges and "bland" textures along with the "stilted and awkward" animations.
