A lot of gamers have their villainous fave– a game they love because its hostility works on a profound level. With these games, the unfairness, obtuseness and/or frustration unfold unique artistic qualities.

I believe Gods Will Be Watching is that game for me.

The developers set out to make a stressful game and a stressful game they made. There were several times where I was late in a chapter, not sure how long I was to the finish line, and I would be worried that one small mishap would mean I would have to start over since there are not checkpoints mid-level. The game itself describes its normal difficulty as “Harsh, unforgiving, and evil”. Accurate.

The challenge level in Gods Will Be Watching is vorpal and you have to be vorpal in response. Although my inclination was to make sure everyone survived in every chapter, oftentimes I had to sacrifice people if not outright kill someone in cold blood. Chapter 1 has you commit outright terrorism and it was very chilling to have to play that. The tone of the story matches the ferocity of the gameplay.

The RNG cheapness and trial and error gameplay would normally be a detriment to a game but it feels appropriate for what the game is going for emotionally. I wasn’t just frustrated playing GWBW– I was disgusted with myself, stressed out, confused, feeling in the dark, and ultimately relieved when I won a chapter.

That said, the story could use some work. The emotional experience of doing these harsh scenarios does a lot more lifting than any of the overt narrative. The plot relies on the player caring about slavery they never see and there’s little work done in the dialogue to make me care about this world. It’s a big problem. In the final chapter they’re talking about complex histories that I only now am I getting context for.

This is a game I heard about when it came out and it’s stuck in the back of my mind for a long time, mostly because of the cool name. Maybe it was fate that I would play it a decade later and it would be one of the most affecting video game experiences of 2023. It’s harsh, but this experience is going to stick with me forever. And the good news is I never have to play it again.

There are times where we have to admit that sometimes a game isn't for everyone. This is one of those times. Gods Will Be Watching draws heavily from classic LucasArts point-and-clicks, but this is purely window dressing. What lies beneath is a masochistic exercise almost unlike any other game I have ever played, in which the puzzle sequences involve extreme micromanagement in order to avoid crashing headfirst into the game's many, many fail states.

Nothing is explained, so the best way to describe it is "meter management." Take the hostage situation in Chapter 1. Every interactable entity is a potential timebomb waiting to send you back to the start, and you must efficiently sequence your actions to avoid this. Indications that things are about to go horribly wrong are very rarely overt. A hostage might say "I need to run" which signals that you need to beat them up and keep them in line, but more likely it's a barely noticeable shift in their posture. You have 4 hostages that you need to juggle, with tons of options in how to handle them, and no way of judging the efficacy of said options without (imo) tens to hundreds of attempts. This approach to trial and error would make NES developers combust instantly.

But, I get it. Micromanagement can be fun, theoretically. I myself have never been partial to it, but I can see the appeal of this sort of application of the formula. High stakes situations where you cannot afford to be hard or soft, forced to make split second decisions lest everything burns to ashes. Fun! An adrenaline junkie's dream. Let's take it a step further then: you also need to deal with things failing because of completely random events out of your control.

This is the "intended vision" the developers had for Gods, per the description of the default difficulty level. The hostage situation can go to shit because something goes entirely wrong with zero indication. It's just out of your control. And you would have no way of knowing that. If you claimed that you understood intrinsically what's up to random chance and what's not, I would just not believe you. You would need some sort of telepathic link with the game, or something. During my dozens of attempt, I have no idea whether or not I was playing it wrong or I just got screwed over. The game is not even content in cold indifference- it gives you an analysis of your actions at the end. I was "too soft." Alright, sure, maybe? I kicked the shit out of innocent hostages and even shot one in the leg, but I also calmed them down cause the game explicitly told me to make sure they don't freak out. How do I know whether or not I'm being too soft? How do I know it's not because one of them just randomly snapped? I wasn't going to stick around and find out- but suffice to say, I find the ranking system obnoxious and poorly explained.

It's just not my thing. I spoke about this somewhat in a prior review of For The King": I don't think difficulty through random chance is compelling difficulty. So, when I consider that this is the intended mode of play from the developers, I already know I am not in the target audience for this game. Overall, it does feel a bit like an ivory tower I couldn't scale. I am okay with admitting that I probably don't have the right stuff for this game, but I am similarly okay with saying I don't find this sort of thing appealing.

There are alternate difficulties that either remove the random elements or allow you to just enjoy the narrative. I'll be honest, I wasn't interested enough in the narrative to want to do that- because I couldn't get past the first chapter in however many hours I spent, so I had no damn idea what was going on outside of the opening cutscene. It's a nice cutscene, sure. There is a compelling premise to it- but that's just it. It's a premise and then I had to play through a RNG-fest meter management simulation and fail 50 times with no idea if I am improving or what. So I have no compulsion to just play the narrative mode, cause I wasn't sufficiently hooked by what I had already played. It could be great, in fact I'm sure it is based on several reviews I've seen. Yet, I was already turned off.

There is also the puzzle mode, which just offers the puzzle aspect with no element of random chance. Ultimately, the core gameplay loop just wasn't satisfying. For much the same reason I have never been into real-time strategy games, I don't personally enjoy a mix of heavy attention to detail with time constraints. It's something that asks for specific things from specific people, and I feel like I'd need to pop several Adderall in order to be that specific person.

While it is obvious to me that Gods Will Be Watching is a competently constructed game, I have come to terms with the fact I just don't like this sort of game design. It is deeply cynical at best, malicious at worst. I know it's all in service of the narrative, and I know people find value in difficult games like this. More power to you, if you do.

This is less a review than a public service announcement: I just finished the free DLC that was added to this several years ago now, and I found it significantly better than any individual chapter of the base game. It isn't a radical departure. If you found the base game's mechanics tedious, the same will be true of the DLC. Likewise if you found the base game's philosophy tiresome - this will not change your mind. But it features the best writing in the game and its story forces the characters to talk to each other in a way that characterizes them more strongly than before.

So, if you're at least mixed-positive on this and you haven't gone back to check out the DLC, it's worthwhile. (Maybe remind yourself of the base game's story first - it'll be a tough sit otherwise.)

I still think this game has one of the best executions of the "survival game where you have to make tough moral decisions" idea. As niche and frustrating as the mechanics are, the overwhelming feeling of stress and oppression they force unto the player meshes perfectly with the overarching narrative themes of determination in the face of hopelessness and survival at all costs. The strict but carefully tuned difficulty turns every decision into a contemplative weighing between morals and practicality. Its unrelenting harshness and trial-and-error nature culminates into a brilliant narrative trick at the end that screams ludonarrative in a way that's frankly ahead of its time.

While the highlight of the game is definitely chapter 4, the climactic title drop scene straight from its original Ludum Dare prototype, I found its other sci-fi thriller scenarios equally as interesting, except for that damn desert stage. Honestly while the desert stage had some cool ideas, the sheer amount of rng BS it also had made it probably the most unfun experience I've had in a game in a while.

The game's definitely not for everyone. I feel that many will go into it expecting a story-focused point-and-click adventure and be left disappointed by the reality of it being essentially a meter-management simulator. However, for those who can endure its initial difficulty curve and end up inexplicably Stockholm Syndrome-d into finding its mechanics enjoyable, there's actually a pretty compelling narrative to be found here.

How disappointing. If you were intrigued by this game's gripping premise, and the idea of making solid moral choices, stay away, because this is not the game you thought it was.

What was sold as a "thriller" where players "face intriguing puzzles and tough decisions" is actually just a repetitive puzzle game. It places you in situations which are ripe with difficult moral choices, except none of the choices are actually choices - they're decisions that function as mechanics to a predetermined goal. Saving or killing a hostage is not a choice, but instead a method of keeping the guards at bay. Succeeding or failing at your missions are not complex dillemas that were made on the back of your hard decisions - they're calculated and mathematical uses of the mechanics in your surroundings to accomplish an objective, with a failure resulting in a simple Game Over screen.

It's just sad. This game had so much potential, and it just did not live up to expectations or the merits with which is was sold on. Although the premise is good, the writing is janky; although the art is beautiful, the execution of the game mechanics are convoluted; although the story is intriguing, it's also ham-handed, repetitive, and not very expressive. It pains me to say that this game is a beautiful stinker.

Way too hard to do it without a guide. No numerical indicators, everything is shown through minute changes in character art and can definitely be hard to interpret. Some of the worst parts of the game use RNG in the middle of a very unforgiving setting. Original mode is incredibly difficult to get through without making pragmatic sacrifices but easier versions can make let you get your ideal ending.
This all makes the story go unappreciated as it's hidden behind a brutal system that deters casual gamers. The difficulty however makes the story more intense with each situation genuinely causing your heart to race as you get closer and closer to your goal. The game introduces a great deal of ethical concepts and asks you to choose between two evils and the DLC provides opportunities to make your life easier by compromising your own morals.
On sale this game is an amazing bargain and challenge.

No esperaba que me fuera a gustar tanto un juego que en su inicio me tenía frustrado y apunto de abandonarlo, pero sin embargo, esa es la magia de gods will be watching, cuando te hace clic te atrapa por completo.

Bien se vende a si mismo como una novela gráfica, sin embargo es más bien un juego de puzzles y gestión de recursos, en el cual cada nivel te pone en una situación complicada de la que tienes que intentar salir como puedas.

Es un juego tremendamente duro , que no te lleva de la mano, si no que deja que te estampes una y otra vez, hasta que aprendes a jugar. Y eso para mi fue lo que hizo que me encantara, el hecho en cada nuevo intento pueda fijarme en los detalles y ser capaz de ir deduciendo como funciona cada una de las mecánicas del puzzle, para ponerlo a prueba en el siguiente intento. La repetición te lleva a la perfección y acabas superando cada capítulo con una sensación de satisfacción por haberlo conseguido por ti mismo.

Toda esa experiencia jugable se acompaña de una historia francamente buena, gira sobre un dilema moral muy interesante sobre el que construye a sus personajes. Te atrapa y te hace reflexionar. Aunque echo bastante en falta que tus acciones tengan efecto en la historia. Puedo sacrificar un personaje en una misión por el bien de grupo, y que siga vivo en la siguiente, lo cual convierte a los personajes en herramientas, más que en personas.

Tiene una banda sonora realmente buena, potenciando la tensión de la mayoría de situaciones, además de un píxel art bonito.

Es cierto que no es un juego para todo el mundo, porque se puede hacer muy frustrante ,pero si conecta, es una experiencia genial