A short exploration game about poking around a convenience store and finding a gift with the help of its owner. But sometimes the perfect gift finds you.
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A cozy game that's actually cozy for real.
The visuals are so unique, it's like walking through a hazy dream. It's complemented by simple but effective audio and good background music. You can get through all of the game's achievements in less than an hour if you really want to, but if you want to take your time to soak in the environment, explore for secrets, or fiddle with different interactions and items, you can do that too. It's a game that invites you to chill out and take things slow, and it's really good at it.
Also, you can pet a cat, and there's a Halloween mode, so that's two big bonuses for me.
My only complaint is that in some areas, the came seems to force you to look in certain directions for no reason and it disoriented me a few times, but other than that, there's nothing so bad as to dampen the overall experience.
The visuals are so unique, it's like walking through a hazy dream. It's complemented by simple but effective audio and good background music. You can get through all of the game's achievements in less than an hour if you really want to, but if you want to take your time to soak in the environment, explore for secrets, or fiddle with different interactions and items, you can do that too. It's a game that invites you to chill out and take things slow, and it's really good at it.
Also, you can pet a cat, and there's a Halloween mode, so that's two big bonuses for me.
My only complaint is that in some areas, the came seems to force you to look in certain directions for no reason and it disoriented me a few times, but other than that, there's nothing so bad as to dampen the overall experience.
minus one whole star for being french /jk
is it possible to review a game strictly based on vibes? the weirdness and creepy, unexplained stuff in the building is fun, but frankly i wish there was more.
is it possible to review a game strictly based on vibes? the weirdness and creepy, unexplained stuff in the building is fun, but frankly i wish there was more.
i encountered a glitch where i accidentally dropped the hockey mask on the floor and it was the one item i couldn't pick back up so this game is literally unplayable
It is a lot of vibes and it does the vibes so very well.
I adore the art an extreme amount, i like the creepiness being not scary but just, a little odd, a little whacky.
I adore the art an extreme amount, i like the creepiness being not scary but just, a little odd, a little whacky.
Cute art style and wonderful atmosphere. The dialogue is realistic and charming and includes the most creative use of language selection in any game I've played. The game takes place in a fictional Montreal, and so you are greeted in French - you can respond in French or English, and can drop in or out of one or the other at any point. Really creative and unique.
The game is short and the endings are warm and charming, but there are plenty of secrets off the main path to find. Definitely recommend as a polished <2 hour burst of fun and creativity.
The game is short and the endings are warm and charming, but there are plenty of secrets off the main path to find. Definitely recommend as a polished <2 hour burst of fun and creativity.
I've never been good at picking up new languages. I struggle to memorize vocabulary, and conjugations fly right out of my head the moment it's time to form a sentence. Despite spending my entire schooling in various different language courses, I never picked up enough to be even conversant.
This is a source of great dismay to me. I love talking to people, I love reading, and I want to approach other cultures on their own terms rather than asking them to switch to mine. So four years ago I decided to start learning just a little bit of French every day with the help of one of those language apps. Even after COVID swooped in to severely limit my spare energy, I made sure to at least practice a bit every day to avoid losing what progress I'd made.
Dépanneur Nocturne is a bilingual game to a degree that I've never seen a game attempt before. It's not a "choose you language in the settings menu" thing—it's a "step into the dépanneur and the clerk starts speaking French to you" thing. You can respond in French or in English, and that's what she'll use to speak to you unless you ask her to switch. It's exactly like walking into a store in a Francophone region.
Despite four years of fucking around with a language-learning app, I've never had the courage to try actually engaging with Francophone media in its native language. I didn't think I could hack it. Even with frequent dictionary consults, I thought the process would be too slow and painful to actually be engaging.
I would never have gone into a menu and selected "French" for this game. But sure, I can say bonsoir when I walk in the door, just like I'd do in real life. And I found I could mostly make sense of the ensuing conversation. And so it was that I made it through the entire game without ever asking Eugénie to switch to English.
Of course, I had to consult the dictionary plenty of times. But not so much that it kept me from appreciating the cozy atmosphere, the mysterious worldbuilding, and even the charming writing of this game. And through all of that was woven the warmth of the implicit invitation the game provided to play it in its own tongue without judgment or expectation. And that means the world to me.
This is a source of great dismay to me. I love talking to people, I love reading, and I want to approach other cultures on their own terms rather than asking them to switch to mine. So four years ago I decided to start learning just a little bit of French every day with the help of one of those language apps. Even after COVID swooped in to severely limit my spare energy, I made sure to at least practice a bit every day to avoid losing what progress I'd made.
Dépanneur Nocturne is a bilingual game to a degree that I've never seen a game attempt before. It's not a "choose you language in the settings menu" thing—it's a "step into the dépanneur and the clerk starts speaking French to you" thing. You can respond in French or in English, and that's what she'll use to speak to you unless you ask her to switch. It's exactly like walking into a store in a Francophone region.
Despite four years of fucking around with a language-learning app, I've never had the courage to try actually engaging with Francophone media in its native language. I didn't think I could hack it. Even with frequent dictionary consults, I thought the process would be too slow and painful to actually be engaging.
I would never have gone into a menu and selected "French" for this game. But sure, I can say bonsoir when I walk in the door, just like I'd do in real life. And I found I could mostly make sense of the ensuing conversation. And so it was that I made it through the entire game without ever asking Eugénie to switch to English.
Of course, I had to consult the dictionary plenty of times. But not so much that it kept me from appreciating the cozy atmosphere, the mysterious worldbuilding, and even the charming writing of this game. And through all of that was woven the warmth of the implicit invitation the game provided to play it in its own tongue without judgment or expectation. And that means the world to me.