I like it well enough but I may have to call it quits in the last leg. It's too grindy towards the end trying to get enough cash to hire someone. I'm gonna give it one more go but the repetition isn't too annoying at first, but it kind of accumulates as time goes on to the point of being a bit unbearable. All in all though, at least the first half of what I played was very charming and had some nice atmosphere, music, and design. and the gameplay loop for a spell was fun.
it's hard to describe the experience of playing this game in a way that reflects how i feel about it. it's a work simulator that actually feels like work. it's not fun to play, and "completing" it isn't rewarding either. but that's the point, so in a way, it's a great reflection of real life.
A charming little experience.
Poor janitor.
Poor janitor.
absolutely no part of this game is fun. 4 stars.
This game has alot of charm, I think it has an interesting premise, some really fun character designs, honestly just a neat lil concept all around, but its absolutely BURIED in pure, unadulterated trial and error. Be prepared to have your time wasted as you wade through chaos mechanics for a long time before it starts to make sense.
It's unfun. It's repetitive. Yet somehow, this funny little anti-adventure game keeps drawing me in
This review contains spoilers
I would classify this as one of those games that people claim isn't meant to be fun, like Pathologic. It's not really groundbreaking or innovative, but it perfectly expresses what it sets out to and that guarantees it a 5/5 in my view.
It really does feel like "an adventure game without the adventure" or an "anti-adventure". The planet of Xabran's Rock is full of all kinds of colorful people: spellcasters, rogues, androids - adventurers. But you're not one of them. You're the janitor. The "sanidrone". Despite the fact that you were cursed to have a skull yelling at you at all times, you're still leagues more mundane and unimportant than even the blandest vendor there is.
There is a constant sense that nothing in this place - from the items you pick up to the environment itself - is truly meant "for you". You can pick up powerful spell components, but you don't have the expertise to use them; You can stumbled across powerful drugs, gems, and technology that costs more credits than you'll ever make in your entire life, but you're at the mercy of the vendors that will only pay you 10 credits at best regardless.
Selling items by itself is a pain. First you have to make your way to the correct vendor, which is a (intentionally designed) nightmare as the map is confusing and the arrows oftentimes don't help at all, and some of them switch places on the daily. Then you have to hope their randomized stock lines up with what you want to sell. And finally, you have to pray they're willing to pay a decent amount for it. They aren't most of the time. There is no consistency, no pattern to follow. It's all luck.
Said luck is one of the few things you can precisely quantify in this game along with your money, but it doesn't really seem to matter. More luck didn't seem to accelerate the pace in which I found the goddess fetishes, I found most of them while I was in the negatives. Random food and genders on the ground were so sparse that I really couldn't tell if my luck was affecting them at all.
It's not like there wasn't any progression. The items I found on the ground did change, regardless if through the luck stat or based on the amount of hours I put into the game. I started finding whole metal plates instead of scraps, and once I stumbled across "the dankest weed in Xabran". But these items weren't made for me. This would be a lucky find for anyone else. All I ever hoped to find was food, gender or worship items.
The game conditions you into sticking to your profession as a janitor. Finding the vendor that will maybe buy this item for more than 2 credits is going to take time, time I could be using to burn trash and make a miserable but stable earning. It's not like I couldn't abandon my job and focus solely on selling, but I would risk starving to death. The metaphor is clear.
And the ending is... depressing. I worked harder than ever to gather resources (600 credits in my case, the arguably cheapest option) to break the skull's curse. I then go to sleep. I wake up with said skull speaking actual words to me, words of apology and a promise that I can finally leave to go on my very own adventure. I set out in the middle of the night, path illuminated by floating lanterns, and board the ship (or air?) to start my new life.
Then I woke up. Hungry, dysphoric, with 4 credits to my name. No curse, but also no adventure. Today is Delviday. My payment of 18 credits for burning 50 pieces of garbage just came through.
But it's not like it was a joyless experience either. I think the religion aspect of the game is oddly comforting in a way. Even if luck doesn't really help you much in practice, it always felt nice to pray or put down an offering and hear the luck increase (I think?) jingle. The shrines served as both landmarks to help me navigate and the focus of some jokes I cracked at myself to keep entertained amidst the grind. Are you lost? Turn the corner. You found Beb. Works every time.
It's one of the only things in this game that is consistent. You pray, you get more luck. Even if that doesn't really mean anything, it's a fact. You have 9 deities looking out for you at all time. Maybe they don't understand that helping you find a powerful laser blaster won't be enough to release you from capitalism. Or maybe they're just as powerless as you are.
Aside from the cops/military, every other talking NPC seems to be sympathetic or at least neutral to you. A lot of them inform you on different ways to gain or avoid losing luck, which is a tutorial but also a way to show they're also relying on fate and want you to succeed as much as they want to themselves. It feels like everyone has a rich and unique life story that exists even if you can't be a part of it.
My favorite thing in this game were the Theday festivals. Their gameplay significance is obviously that the ground is littered with Thedule effigies, which I could grab and keep for a significant luck increase. But sometimes I just spent a couple of minutes in front of the many bands performing across town, taking a moment to enjoy the music even if my pay would be gutted. It's okay to enjoy yourself.
Also, gender treatment is the same price of a protein drink? And it works immediately? Maybe it's not such a dystopian world after all.
It really does feel like "an adventure game without the adventure" or an "anti-adventure". The planet of Xabran's Rock is full of all kinds of colorful people: spellcasters, rogues, androids - adventurers. But you're not one of them. You're the janitor. The "sanidrone". Despite the fact that you were cursed to have a skull yelling at you at all times, you're still leagues more mundane and unimportant than even the blandest vendor there is.
There is a constant sense that nothing in this place - from the items you pick up to the environment itself - is truly meant "for you". You can pick up powerful spell components, but you don't have the expertise to use them; You can stumbled across powerful drugs, gems, and technology that costs more credits than you'll ever make in your entire life, but you're at the mercy of the vendors that will only pay you 10 credits at best regardless.
Selling items by itself is a pain. First you have to make your way to the correct vendor, which is a (intentionally designed) nightmare as the map is confusing and the arrows oftentimes don't help at all, and some of them switch places on the daily. Then you have to hope their randomized stock lines up with what you want to sell. And finally, you have to pray they're willing to pay a decent amount for it. They aren't most of the time. There is no consistency, no pattern to follow. It's all luck.
Said luck is one of the few things you can precisely quantify in this game along with your money, but it doesn't really seem to matter. More luck didn't seem to accelerate the pace in which I found the goddess fetishes, I found most of them while I was in the negatives. Random food and genders on the ground were so sparse that I really couldn't tell if my luck was affecting them at all.
It's not like there wasn't any progression. The items I found on the ground did change, regardless if through the luck stat or based on the amount of hours I put into the game. I started finding whole metal plates instead of scraps, and once I stumbled across "the dankest weed in Xabran". But these items weren't made for me. This would be a lucky find for anyone else. All I ever hoped to find was food, gender or worship items.
The game conditions you into sticking to your profession as a janitor. Finding the vendor that will maybe buy this item for more than 2 credits is going to take time, time I could be using to burn trash and make a miserable but stable earning. It's not like I couldn't abandon my job and focus solely on selling, but I would risk starving to death. The metaphor is clear.
And the ending is... depressing. I worked harder than ever to gather resources (600 credits in my case, the arguably cheapest option) to break the skull's curse. I then go to sleep. I wake up with said skull speaking actual words to me, words of apology and a promise that I can finally leave to go on my very own adventure. I set out in the middle of the night, path illuminated by floating lanterns, and board the ship (or air?) to start my new life.
Then I woke up. Hungry, dysphoric, with 4 credits to my name. No curse, but also no adventure. Today is Delviday. My payment of 18 credits for burning 50 pieces of garbage just came through.
But it's not like it was a joyless experience either. I think the religion aspect of the game is oddly comforting in a way. Even if luck doesn't really help you much in practice, it always felt nice to pray or put down an offering and hear the luck increase (I think?) jingle. The shrines served as both landmarks to help me navigate and the focus of some jokes I cracked at myself to keep entertained amidst the grind. Are you lost? Turn the corner. You found Beb. Works every time.
It's one of the only things in this game that is consistent. You pray, you get more luck. Even if that doesn't really mean anything, it's a fact. You have 9 deities looking out for you at all time. Maybe they don't understand that helping you find a powerful laser blaster won't be enough to release you from capitalism. Or maybe they're just as powerless as you are.
Aside from the cops/military, every other talking NPC seems to be sympathetic or at least neutral to you. A lot of them inform you on different ways to gain or avoid losing luck, which is a tutorial but also a way to show they're also relying on fate and want you to succeed as much as they want to themselves. It feels like everyone has a rich and unique life story that exists even if you can't be a part of it.
My favorite thing in this game were the Theday festivals. Their gameplay significance is obviously that the ground is littered with Thedule effigies, which I could grab and keep for a significant luck increase. But sometimes I just spent a couple of minutes in front of the many bands performing across town, taking a moment to enjoy the music even if my pay would be gutted. It's okay to enjoy yourself.
Also, gender treatment is the same price of a protein drink? And it works immediately? Maybe it's not such a dystopian world after all.
sadly this game didnt click with me. gonna shelv it and try giving it another shot later
This is not a "fun" game. It's a game about slogging away, picking up trash in a system that is designed to be rigged against you. It's all about randomness, and being a very little person in a very big world, where everything is out of your control. A bizarre, kooky world that often doesn't make sense, and where every day is a learning experience.
And this vibrant, colorful world of very strange things is more endearing and wholesome than any you might find yourself in, you'll soon find yourself in a delightful zen state of picking up more trash than you may ever have expected to see, just to find yourself living the dream of getting off this dang planet and turning your future into that of a true adventurer somewhere among the stars.
And this vibrant, colorful world of very strange things is more endearing and wholesome than any you might find yourself in, you'll soon find yourself in a delightful zen state of picking up more trash than you may ever have expected to see, just to find yourself living the dream of getting off this dang planet and turning your future into that of a true adventurer somewhere among the stars.
I never really figured out how to beat this but I loved it and should go back for more soon.
i have so many hours in this game because the visual style and gameplay premise is really awesome but i also never know how to actually progress, maybe stuff was added since i first played it when it came out but... i dont know???
This review contains spoilers
As a game, this is almost unbearably grindy and obtuse. As a piece of art evoking the experience of poverty, of course, the grindy obtuseness is part of the point--but I'm not sure it's all that effective as an art piece, either. It seeks to undermine expectations about the arc of a video game by providing the context of adventure without any of the actual mechanics, but ultimately it asks the player to perform quests, collect items, and even do a bit of light dungeon delving. It presents a world that seems to be inescapable and governed by incomprehensible luck as a mirror of poverty, but then it provides a formula for fixing your own luck and (depending on how you interpret the ending) possibly escaping the cycle. The demands to be game-like, to have an arc the player can complete, are inherently at odds with the point the game is trying to make and I think it suffers for failing to resolve that contradiction.
Delivers on the grimy spaceport promise in an entrancing pixelated pastel style.
Everything else is a confusing illogical mess.
Everything else is a confusing illogical mess.
A game about keeping a diary while working at a spaceport. As a janitor. Really it's hard to give the game a rating because on the one hand it's not exactly fun to play. The core gameplay loop involves going around and collecting trash. The next day you are given a seemingly random amount of money roughly correlating to the trash you collected. Occasionally you'll come across something worth selling. However hunger, random bouts of dysphoria, and shakedowns from guards eat away at your money.
On the other hand the frustration of grinding away for a goal you will probably never achieve is kind of the point. Diaries advertises itself as an "anti-adventure" game and it really achieves that. You're on a planet littered with ruins and teeming with the adventurers come to loot it. But you are not one of them. You are a janitor picking up their trash. There are shops selling all kinds of fantastical items, but you will never be able to afford any of them with what you're paid.
All in all, it's not a fun game to play, but that's the whole point. So at least it succeeds in what it sets out to do.
On the other hand the frustration of grinding away for a goal you will probably never achieve is kind of the point. Diaries advertises itself as an "anti-adventure" game and it really achieves that. You're on a planet littered with ruins and teeming with the adventurers come to loot it. But you are not one of them. You are a janitor picking up their trash. There are shops selling all kinds of fantastical items, but you will never be able to afford any of them with what you're paid.
All in all, it's not a fun game to play, but that's the whole point. So at least it succeeds in what it sets out to do.
I cleaned for like an hour and then didn't know what else to do. Accurate janitor work I guess
CWs for Memories of a Spaceport Janitor: bodily fluids, harassment, transphobia.
A deeply unfocused, dispassionate, and not very carefully tuned container for the weird liberal middle-class imagination of a distinctly working class job. I'm theoretically into the core loop and really a big fan of how consistently disorienting the city is, but it's in too loose of a frame and ends up stumbling where decades of sims have already produced so many models for designing day-to-day minutia. The scaling of numbers and the general cost of life is baffling given the dice roll to figure out your daily piece-wage and doubly so when you realize that there's just no rent due for some reason. I have a bit of sympathy for this game because I really did otherwise enjoy bopping around the city, but it holds a really nefarious and delirium inducing bootstrap moralizing directed at an individual in an abstraction of our own society that's way too fucking stinky.
A deeply unfocused, dispassionate, and not very carefully tuned container for the weird liberal middle-class imagination of a distinctly working class job. I'm theoretically into the core loop and really a big fan of how consistently disorienting the city is, but it's in too loose of a frame and ends up stumbling where decades of sims have already produced so many models for designing day-to-day minutia. The scaling of numbers and the general cost of life is baffling given the dice roll to figure out your daily piece-wage and doubly so when you realize that there's just no rent due for some reason. I have a bit of sympathy for this game because I really did otherwise enjoy bopping around the city, but it holds a really nefarious and delirium inducing bootstrap moralizing directed at an individual in an abstraction of our own society that's way too fucking stinky.
This review contains spoilers
One of the most interesting mechanics is the gender dysphoria one. Its near impossible to give the player anthing close to the abstract discomfort of gender dysphoria, but i think the effect of gender dysphoria: discomfort and a difficulty existing in the world is well represented by the wavy screen distortion and text scrambling. Though it doesnt really touch on depression, which i think is a major element of gender dysphoria and the way in which its bypassed with just a pill is fine for what the game is (infact it works well with the rest of the game) but it still feels like a missed opportunity to go a step further.
The game has pacing issues. Letting the player take the game at their own pace might have been a mistake. Theres too little to do, which is ironic for a game where theres technically something to do every 5 steps. Just throwing away trash isn't interesting enough. There had to be more meat. Having said that, boredom isn't necessarily a bad thing. Making the objectives easier to complete might have been nice so the game doesnt take quite so long. idk. I gave up on beating the game's 4th quest.
Navigation is probably my biggest complaint. The city feels like its designed to turn in on itself. I keep finding myself going in circles. as someone with poor navigation skills, and a poor visual memory. Everything but returning home (which is well sign posted) was an uphill struggle. Not only is navigation bad, but guiding the player through exactly what they need to do isnt great either. its not bad but i would have liked to understand how the money earning works or why i should care about luck
The strengths of the game are definitely in the background character design, and the sound design. I love the cat noises and the music that plays at festivals. Everything is so charming and colourful and cute.
The game does a really great job of selling the idea that you're actually on a spaceport for adventurers who do actually come through here and go on adventurs you can only dream of.
The game has pacing issues. Letting the player take the game at their own pace might have been a mistake. Theres too little to do, which is ironic for a game where theres technically something to do every 5 steps. Just throwing away trash isn't interesting enough. There had to be more meat. Having said that, boredom isn't necessarily a bad thing. Making the objectives easier to complete might have been nice so the game doesnt take quite so long. idk. I gave up on beating the game's 4th quest.
Navigation is probably my biggest complaint. The city feels like its designed to turn in on itself. I keep finding myself going in circles. as someone with poor navigation skills, and a poor visual memory. Everything but returning home (which is well sign posted) was an uphill struggle. Not only is navigation bad, but guiding the player through exactly what they need to do isnt great either. its not bad but i would have liked to understand how the money earning works or why i should care about luck
The strengths of the game are definitely in the background character design, and the sound design. I love the cat noises and the music that plays at festivals. Everything is so charming and colourful and cute.
The game does a really great job of selling the idea that you're actually on a spaceport for adventurers who do actually come through here and go on adventurs you can only dream of.
Uno de mis juegos favoritos.
En Diaries of a spaceport janitor no hacemos más que juntar basura del piso: cumplimos nuestro destino de paria. Levantamos la cabeza y vemos naves espaciales surcando los cielos. Ahí está todo el juego, en esa escena que contrapone nuestra desdicha personal al anhelo por una vida ideal que nos resulta inalcanzable. Este contraste se vuelve recurrente en el juego, aunque toma otras formas, y sirve para reforzar su tema principal, es decir, la aparente inalterabilidad del destino y nuestro conflicto interno para lidiar con la realidad.
En Diaries of a spaceport janitor no hacemos más que juntar basura del piso: cumplimos nuestro destino de paria. Levantamos la cabeza y vemos naves espaciales surcando los cielos. Ahí está todo el juego, en esa escena que contrapone nuestra desdicha personal al anhelo por una vida ideal que nos resulta inalcanzable. Este contraste se vuelve recurrente en el juego, aunque toma otras formas, y sirve para reforzar su tema principal, es decir, la aparente inalterabilidad del destino y nuestro conflicto interno para lidiar con la realidad.
SO glad to find there are other people trapped in the same cycle of playing 2 days in this game and then quitting it for another 12 months like me. its like the metagame has more meaning than the actual game itself
I understand that the point of this game is for it to be a miserable experience. And they did a great job executing that! It was a miserable experience!
I could not for the life of me tell what I was "meant" to be doing.
idk wtf was going on at any point
a game where you pick up trash and do various mundane tasks? count me in
Interesting premise but I ultimately had no idea what I was doing
It's so obtuse, and incredibly overwhelming upfront, but I love the flavor of it all.