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[EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]
This review contains spoilers
The first hour isn't boring you are. Was kinda disappointed when this just became superliminal. idk kinda reductive but i thought the like office comedy thing it had going on was a lot more unique then the more clichely indie stuff after that. It has a similar thing to flower sun and rain where the rigid daily structure is a great setup for comedy. and just like that game every review seems to think it's some kind of drag when i just found it really chill. BUT then that ending bit goes on for so long that it begins to become compelling again and getting out into that outside area is incredibly cathartic. I uhhhh said no to rachel cus i wanted to explore the rest of the island and didn't know it would send me back to the nightmare hell office and i thinkkkk you just get sent into a loop you can't escape from? idk there's like 4 playthroughs of this on youtube and none of them say no to rachel (understandably) so idk if there is an actual bad ending but after samey looking room like 50 i just closed the game lol.
I think it's cool when semi long games don't have saves. It ironically made me more likely to actually finish it. Knowing i can't just save and say i will pick it back up later.
am really excited to see what this dev team can do with a bit more experience on their next game
Can you tell im really tired writing this lmao
I think it's cool when semi long games don't have saves. It ironically made me more likely to actually finish it. Knowing i can't just save and say i will pick it back up later.
am really excited to see what this dev team can do with a bit more experience on their next game
Can you tell im really tired writing this lmao
This review contains spoilers
A little cooler on this now, after some reflection, and upon talking with more people who also played it - the game hit me very strongly and differently at first due to some life events, but that's faded somewhat, now.
It's bold to not allow saving; it feels like the game has a self-respect that is rare in its medium because of that. "I am a commitment! Make time for me!" But it doesn't particularly add much to the overall point of the experience beyond the first playthrough. The meta-stuff is very... "copy-paste previous assets ad nauseam", which has its place here, but due to the context of other games, can't help but feel a little trite.
I think what really carries this game all the same is the main character, Sam. They're an incredibly interesting protagonist in their distressingly thorough inertia; their fear of letting go of the comfortable, the repetitive, the mundane - even if their concept of it needs to be stretched beyond its breaking-point. They are a thornless rose.
I stayed with Rachel, and always would. It's important to seek connection, and stop moving - especially when you're only walking on a treadmill.
It's bold to not allow saving; it feels like the game has a self-respect that is rare in its medium because of that. "I am a commitment! Make time for me!" But it doesn't particularly add much to the overall point of the experience beyond the first playthrough. The meta-stuff is very... "copy-paste previous assets ad nauseam", which has its place here, but due to the context of other games, can't help but feel a little trite.
I think what really carries this game all the same is the main character, Sam. They're an incredibly interesting protagonist in their distressingly thorough inertia; their fear of letting go of the comfortable, the repetitive, the mundane - even if their concept of it needs to be stretched beyond its breaking-point. They are a thornless rose.
I stayed with Rachel, and always would. It's important to seek connection, and stop moving - especially when you're only walking on a treadmill.
Cried a lot. A game that, through scant, but very well-placed and contextualised writing, revealed anxieties within me I had tried to push to the side for a long time. It's long for what it asks of you, but even if you don't scratch under its (considerably dense) surface, it's worth your time.
Life isn't about being the main character. Maybe, if you keep repeating that to yourself, it will start to be true.
Life isn't about being the main character. Maybe, if you keep repeating that to yourself, it will start to be true.
I have played this game like 8 times now, somehow it has taken hold of me like an illness that I will not heal from. Its secrets, its closure that it will not grant me is crushing as well as exhilarating. I am writing this review with the hope that others will share what information they have and we may compare notes here. Please, I will be institutionalized soon otherwise. Thank you
The use of repetition and laborious exploration is fascinating. Not enough games are bold enough to waste your time with office drudgery, and even fewer manage to pay off those lost hours with a rewarding end. Challenging to recommend a game that requires 3-5 straight hours to play, but worth the investment if you can find time and enjoy media about the absurdist nightmare of an office building.