Port of Call
released on Aug 28, 2015
Imagine waking up on a small dock with no recollection of who you are or how you got there. The first person you find is a grumpy, old man who enlists you to work on his ferry boat which seems to have materialized behind you. But not all is as it seems on this strange ship, and the people you meet may know more about your past than they let on.
Reviews View More
Port of Call is a short game yet with a good story. We start in a port (no shit Sherlock!), and then stuff starts to get weird. Later we discover why we are there, who we are and who are the people we talk with. I found this game quite interesting with a nice concept.
A real neat short game that is shockingly free. Huge fan of the art style in particular.
Another free indie title with existential themes about our lives and the choices we make over their course. Would I ever pay for a game like this? No, but there is an intriguing nugget of a highly involved classic Myst-like point-and-click mystery nestled at the heart of this indie. In truth, what you get to play is pretty simplistic, with so-so dialogue and not much for gameplay outside of walking, picking up items, and a few dialogue trees. But the soul is there!
There are two separate endings, and that final decision legitimately made me stop to consider the choices being offered. It brought an unexpected gravity to a less than subtle enviability made clear about 7 minutes in. So the creator certainly deserves credit for providing an opportunity to explore this ethical/philosophical scenario, even if it lacks complexity.
The sound is pretty lackluster, with the voice acting being the worst aspect. Controls are occasionally frustrating, especially when one tries to click through and read the dialogue. Often I tried to click and go to another line of dialogue, but the game decided I had already answered the prompt before providing enough time to read the response. Also, when talking to the woman, one of the responses ran entirely off the screen. Frustrating. Less frustrating and more fun was a glitch that spat me outside the elevator when going up to the bar and teleported me straight to the man.
Overall, the general aesthetics and art style are creepy in a simplistic way. Items scattered about and floating through the air, shadows lingering about while you cannot help to feel like a much larger story is waiting to unfold. Sadly, it does not, but if this developer ever returns to make another title, I plan to check it out.
Solid idea, worth the 20 minutes you will spend playing if you enjoy simple philosophical quandaries/thought experiments. It has an intriguing, creepy art style that would make for a killer, fully-fledged mystery, given the developer had more time and resources.
Side note: Can someone explain the point of the crayons and art other than being collectibles to force you to explore a barren, six-roomed ship?
There are two separate endings, and that final decision legitimately made me stop to consider the choices being offered. It brought an unexpected gravity to a less than subtle enviability made clear about 7 minutes in. So the creator certainly deserves credit for providing an opportunity to explore this ethical/philosophical scenario, even if it lacks complexity.
The sound is pretty lackluster, with the voice acting being the worst aspect. Controls are occasionally frustrating, especially when one tries to click through and read the dialogue. Often I tried to click and go to another line of dialogue, but the game decided I had already answered the prompt before providing enough time to read the response. Also, when talking to the woman, one of the responses ran entirely off the screen. Frustrating. Less frustrating and more fun was a glitch that spat me outside the elevator when going up to the bar and teleported me straight to the man.
Overall, the general aesthetics and art style are creepy in a simplistic way. Items scattered about and floating through the air, shadows lingering about while you cannot help to feel like a much larger story is waiting to unfold. Sadly, it does not, but if this developer ever returns to make another title, I plan to check it out.
Solid idea, worth the 20 minutes you will spend playing if you enjoy simple philosophical quandaries/thought experiments. It has an intriguing, creepy art style that would make for a killer, fully-fledged mystery, given the developer had more time and resources.
Side note: Can someone explain the point of the crayons and art other than being collectibles to force you to explore a barren, six-roomed ship?
You could do a lot worse for $0.