probably the most "eh" game ive played this year. it has intresting concepts but the writing falls flat for me or feels a tad simplified at times.

i dig the combat/reward/limited resources in theory but like the concepts i didnt feel like it was executed in an engaging manner.

the characters ARE the highlight but the interactions we dont get are enough for me to be satisfied.

i suppose i expected more! but alas.

I really, really, really, REALLY wanted to like this game, especially since it's something i've been following the development of for quite a while. Unfortunately, I have to fold--this is too dull especially for the experience it's trying to depict. I'm drawn to RPGs set in the modern world or, at least, in non-medieval settings and an RPG dealing with the horrors of war from the perspective of deserters/ex-child soldiers drew me to LGD years ago and that's not even getting into it's absolutely gorgeous character art, CGs, and sprite work.

Presentation can only do so much however, especially when the writing is so flat. For a game with this sort of subject matter I expected something less saturday morning cartoon. The bad guys are cartoonishly evil, not maniacally laughing at the good guys cartoony but just several paces behind that. The main crew are goody two shoes to a fault with the little gray they have being near nonexistent, they're all morally upstanding people standing on the right side of the game's conflict and who don't seem to have much of a mean bone in their pretty, well-designed bodies. Dark concepts such as human trafficking, gunning down civilians in order to start a conflict between countries, and racism are dulled by how the game treats all of it with kids gloves. The Russia part of the game was the best at keeping the mood from what I saw so far but as the game progressed and the party grew the game lingered further and further away from those vibes of desperation and near hopelessness.

The RPG aspects of the game were actually handled well for the most part. All fights are part of the plot or even avoidable on occasion which was a smart move for a game like this. The way after battle rewards were handled also incentivized strategic and long-term thinking + the absolute lack of shops to buy supplies from made every battle feel like a battle of attrition which was great.......

But maaaaaaaaan the WRITING!!!! WHY????????????

I think I should have realized how 'soft' the writing was going to be was in the game's opening hour. Having the main character so easily shake of lifelong indoctrination just like that was beyond my suspension of disbelief. The writing for the game as a whole (up to Poland, I quit after the warehouse segment) is like that: annoyingly soft and that's the best word I can think of when describing it.

Complete playthrough. Long Gone Days is a 2D RPG set amidst a modern-day war - a relatively unusual setting for the genre, which it uses well to facilitate some meaningful character and relationship development, exploring themes of friendship and loyalty, alongside moral dilemmas that conflicts naturally bring to light. The gameplay is admittedly relatively basic and, especially early on, the battle system doesn't provide a great deal of options - but some complexity does eventually come, as the party expands and develops. With no random encounters and limited healing options, the feeling is definitely one of an attritional struggle, very fitting for the setting. I wouldn't say that the game ever truly excels, being limited by that overall lack of complexity, but it's certainly been a worthwhile experience all the same.