Universe for Sale is a sci-fi narrative experience about human relationships and self-acceptance, follow the stories of the nameless Master, a mysterious cultist and Lila the universes vendor.
Reviews View More
A playable graphic novel (not a visual novel, that's different) that made for a really /intriguing/ game, which isn't a word I use for video games a lot but felt merited here.
What really makes this one stand out is how much care was put into the worldbuilding- I was so fascinated by what life was like on this little Jupiter space colony, especially how thoughtful and developed the theology was. The sumptuous art did a great job of realizing their vision (I'd wager the creators have definitely read the popular comic Kill Six Billion Demons) and it lead to some stunning vistas. Climbing a massive wind turbine to harvest alien plants, witnessing futuristic religious rites in a cultist temple, peering into a handcrafted universe made out of tea and seeing a sea of black holes... it felt like I was actually living these moments.
The story itself is really cool too, I'd hate to spoil it but there is a mystery at the center of it and once you clue in to what it is, it's a very gripping ride. Surprisingly understated too, managing to pull a story of a universal scale out of a narrative that's strictly personal to our two lead characters. I will say it does get a bit shakey towards the end (definitely some things I would have cut) but overall it was effective and hit the right emotional notes.
The universe building segments were a pleasant surprise, I could honestly see them fleshing that out into a full on short mini game because getting to combine elements and see what kind of speculative sci-fi universe came out of it was a lot of fun.
Took me about 4.5 hours to complete and while I did miss a few achievements, they were mostly minor cosmetic things so I did feel like I saw everything I needed to. Strong recommendation if you're into graphic novels or sci-fi literature, I think this one is a gem.
What really makes this one stand out is how much care was put into the worldbuilding- I was so fascinated by what life was like on this little Jupiter space colony, especially how thoughtful and developed the theology was. The sumptuous art did a great job of realizing their vision (I'd wager the creators have definitely read the popular comic Kill Six Billion Demons) and it lead to some stunning vistas. Climbing a massive wind turbine to harvest alien plants, witnessing futuristic religious rites in a cultist temple, peering into a handcrafted universe made out of tea and seeing a sea of black holes... it felt like I was actually living these moments.
The story itself is really cool too, I'd hate to spoil it but there is a mystery at the center of it and once you clue in to what it is, it's a very gripping ride. Surprisingly understated too, managing to pull a story of a universal scale out of a narrative that's strictly personal to our two lead characters. I will say it does get a bit shakey towards the end (definitely some things I would have cut) but overall it was effective and hit the right emotional notes.
The universe building segments were a pleasant surprise, I could honestly see them fleshing that out into a full on short mini game because getting to combine elements and see what kind of speculative sci-fi universe came out of it was a lot of fun.
Took me about 4.5 hours to complete and while I did miss a few achievements, they were mostly minor cosmetic things so I did feel like I saw everything I needed to. Strong recommendation if you're into graphic novels or sci-fi literature, I think this one is a gem.