Pretty cool. For most of the game, you're rummaging through a database of live-action clips of a woman being interviewed by police on multiple occasions regarding the disappearance of her husband. It ended up being pretty expansive due to how you uncover new clips by typing in keywords and phrases into the database, finding these new clips and then tying them together with others made uncovering the events that transpired leading up to the interviews especially engaging. It's pretty short though, I was able to finish it in about 2 hours. The story itself is fine and I'm fond of how they were able to tie it together but some of these clips ended up being so absurd it had me like 🤨. I think the actress does a really good job for the most part, her mannerisms in certain clips stand out and add a lot to making the police interviews feel more authentic. This is definitely one of the more unique games I've played, and I recommend checking it out if you're able to catch it on a sale.
Unique and interesting way to dissect a short murder mystery. I can agree with other reviewers that the plot is not the most distinctive, and the acting can be a little awkward at times, but the gameplay aspect is really neat, and pretty immersive. That is what got me most invested. I recommend trying this visual novel out when it goes on sale for around $1 on Steam, as in full it is only around 1-2 hours long. Get that with a Costco hot dog meal, and you got yourself an entertaining $5 evening for the night (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b
3/5
3/5
Note - this review is largely based off recollections from years back over a fresh playthrough, and while some footage was rewatched on YouTube, ultimately take the rating with a grain of salt
Her Story is a game I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while, largely cause of two big reasons. One, it was the first Steam game I ever completed, meaning it intrinsically holds a special place in my heart; and two, to this day, it remains one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had in gaming: a pristine example of how to combine past and present models into an invigorating forte.
See, much like Papers, Please, Her Story is built around a basic gameplay loop that slowly engrosses you the longer you stay with it. You star as an unnamed tabula rasa tasked with uncovering the reason why some random lady murdered her husband, your method for doing so being a sultry of chopped-up interviews assembled on a terminal called the Logic Database. The Logic Database operates very simply- type in keywords to spawn a set of videos that extensively used or featured said keyword. The catch? The clips are out-of-order, meaning you’re going to have to personally parse, arrange, and deduce each one’s placement in order to solve the mystery.
Her Story was built by Sam Barlow, who reportedly developed it out of frustration towards standard detective games like LA Noire and Ace Attorney. Barlow’s criticisms were that, in those titles, players were often relegated to going through the motions over conducting actual sleuthwork, an analysis I am pretty sympathetic to given the replicatory blueprint seen in such ventures as the Arkham series or Assassin’s Creed: you know, those missions where you just walk around an enclosed area trying to find that one conveniently-highlighted clue for the main character to pin together.
In Her Story, there’s no such monologuing - your protagonist is completely silent, leaving it up to you to determine what transpired + the motivations behind said transpirations. And for the majority of players (including myself), that’ll entail putting pen-to-paper in order to actively write out your thoughts, theories, and observations. By the end of my journey I recalled having around two pages worth of notes, and though that quantity is bound to vary depending on each person, it does exemplify the kind of investigatory framework Her Story is going for.
Don’t worry, it’s not all manual labor as the Logic Database does provide some tools to aid you in your sleuthing: personalized tags can be added to videos for later recovery, specific quotes can be outright searched, and, best of all, individual reels can be arranged at the bottom to construct a proxy-timeline. These additions may seem small, but when you’re sifting through hours-upon-hours of content, they go a long way towards making the experience palatable: like you’re actually assembling one of those spiderweb billboards oft seen on crime TV.
Outside of the Windows 2000-esque interface, there isn’t much to say about the graphics. Occasionally a sodium bulb will flicker in the back, revealing the feminine visage of your MC, but otherwise this is a title heavily reliant on its full-motion videos. And on that note, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Her Story would never have worked were it not for Viva Seifert’s performance as the interviewee. Going by Hannah Smith, this is a woman who’s clearly been through some trauma, yet has opted to funnel said trauma into a persona of lies: rarely can you tell if she’s stating the complete truth; however, at the same time, you can’t help but believe many aspects of her tale. Throughout the ordeal, she’ll make you laugh, piss you off, and even shed some waterworks, all while compelling you with an increasingly-deep story about human tragedy. It’s a wonderfully-complex performance, on par with the best of guest stars from police procedurals, and the fact that Seifert didn’t come from an extensive acting background speaks highly of her talent.
There’s no other extensive audio: music is relegated to a single track played on repeat when you’re not watching footage, while SFX is your standard Dotcom Bubble dins. Perhaps hearing the police officer’s questions might’ve made for a worthwhile change, but as a whole, I can’t deny the minimalist set-up does a sufficient job immersing you in Hannah’s world, an aspect you’ll want to embrace should you wish to partake in Her Story’s journey.
And yes, regardless of your thoughts on the FMV genre, I firmly endorse playing this game. You’ll no doubt hear some j#ckasses online claim it’s not a “true” video game, but for the majority of you out there who are more open-minded, I promise you’ll find the experience invigorating.
Her Story is a game I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while, largely cause of two big reasons. One, it was the first Steam game I ever completed, meaning it intrinsically holds a special place in my heart; and two, to this day, it remains one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had in gaming: a pristine example of how to combine past and present models into an invigorating forte.
See, much like Papers, Please, Her Story is built around a basic gameplay loop that slowly engrosses you the longer you stay with it. You star as an unnamed tabula rasa tasked with uncovering the reason why some random lady murdered her husband, your method for doing so being a sultry of chopped-up interviews assembled on a terminal called the Logic Database. The Logic Database operates very simply- type in keywords to spawn a set of videos that extensively used or featured said keyword. The catch? The clips are out-of-order, meaning you’re going to have to personally parse, arrange, and deduce each one’s placement in order to solve the mystery.
Her Story was built by Sam Barlow, who reportedly developed it out of frustration towards standard detective games like LA Noire and Ace Attorney. Barlow’s criticisms were that, in those titles, players were often relegated to going through the motions over conducting actual sleuthwork, an analysis I am pretty sympathetic to given the replicatory blueprint seen in such ventures as the Arkham series or Assassin’s Creed: you know, those missions where you just walk around an enclosed area trying to find that one conveniently-highlighted clue for the main character to pin together.
In Her Story, there’s no such monologuing - your protagonist is completely silent, leaving it up to you to determine what transpired + the motivations behind said transpirations. And for the majority of players (including myself), that’ll entail putting pen-to-paper in order to actively write out your thoughts, theories, and observations. By the end of my journey I recalled having around two pages worth of notes, and though that quantity is bound to vary depending on each person, it does exemplify the kind of investigatory framework Her Story is going for.
Don’t worry, it’s not all manual labor as the Logic Database does provide some tools to aid you in your sleuthing: personalized tags can be added to videos for later recovery, specific quotes can be outright searched, and, best of all, individual reels can be arranged at the bottom to construct a proxy-timeline. These additions may seem small, but when you’re sifting through hours-upon-hours of content, they go a long way towards making the experience palatable: like you’re actually assembling one of those spiderweb billboards oft seen on crime TV.
Outside of the Windows 2000-esque interface, there isn’t much to say about the graphics. Occasionally a sodium bulb will flicker in the back, revealing the feminine visage of your MC, but otherwise this is a title heavily reliant on its full-motion videos. And on that note, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Her Story would never have worked were it not for Viva Seifert’s performance as the interviewee. Going by Hannah Smith, this is a woman who’s clearly been through some trauma, yet has opted to funnel said trauma into a persona of lies: rarely can you tell if she’s stating the complete truth; however, at the same time, you can’t help but believe many aspects of her tale. Throughout the ordeal, she’ll make you laugh, piss you off, and even shed some waterworks, all while compelling you with an increasingly-deep story about human tragedy. It’s a wonderfully-complex performance, on par with the best of guest stars from police procedurals, and the fact that Seifert didn’t come from an extensive acting background speaks highly of her talent.
There’s no other extensive audio: music is relegated to a single track played on repeat when you’re not watching footage, while SFX is your standard Dotcom Bubble dins. Perhaps hearing the police officer’s questions might’ve made for a worthwhile change, but as a whole, I can’t deny the minimalist set-up does a sufficient job immersing you in Hannah’s world, an aspect you’ll want to embrace should you wish to partake in Her Story’s journey.
And yes, regardless of your thoughts on the FMV genre, I firmly endorse playing this game. You’ll no doubt hear some j#ckasses online claim it’s not a “true” video game, but for the majority of you out there who are more open-minded, I promise you’ll find the experience invigorating.
not as good as Immortality but i can see the bones here. there's a clear line that can be traced from this to that when you disregard the misstep off to the side with Telling Lies.
cannot wait to see what Sam works on next.
cannot wait to see what Sam works on next.
Since I'm on a bit of a thriller/mystery kick lately, I wanted to try Her Story, the award-winner by Sam Barlow, whose previous claim to fame was writing the Silent Hill Wii and PSP spin-offs.
I'd always heard good things about it, particularly the lead performance from Viva Seifert, with the keyword 'unconventional' often floating around the game's reputation online. It's an apt descriptor for Her Story for sure, but not always in the best ways.
Her Story's core gameplay takes the form of a simulated 90s Windows desktop that's home to a police database of short clips from the interrogation of Hannah Smith, recently convicted of murdering her husband Simon. Using only the database's search function, you must unearth the truth by taking note of words or phrases that Hannah uses as well as names and locations that are frequently mentioned.
It's all very impressive and intuitive to begin with. The presentation and feeling of scouring a mid-90s police database are certainly novel and work in the game's favor. However, the clips you are given in response to your query only show up 5 at a time, with the game encouraging you to use other words in tandem to get more results. While this can work, you'd be surprised at how many clips repeat the same information or don't give you enough new information to be able to find them.
For instance, about 10 of those clips are just Hannah answering yes and no to a lie detector, with no feasible way to access them other than brute forcing the search function in order to get them in rotation, something I had to do by the game's end in order to complete the database.
No disrespect to Viva herself, but her performance as Hannah is... spotty. There are certainly parts where she gives great delivery, but also other parts that feel a bit wooden? In fairness, though, due to the nature of the story as it unravels, one could argue that some of that woodenness is intentional, but that remains to be seen.
As for the 'mystery' as a whole, unlocking the various twists and turns by yourself, sometimes by accident, can be rewarding. However, when you look at the narrative in its entirety, it's safe to say that some of Sam's Silent Hill-isms carried over. It's hard to explain without spoilers but you'll know it when you hear it.
All in all, Her Story can be a fun and engaging exercise in presentation and investigation, but also a frustrating and messy one too.
6/10
I'd always heard good things about it, particularly the lead performance from Viva Seifert, with the keyword 'unconventional' often floating around the game's reputation online. It's an apt descriptor for Her Story for sure, but not always in the best ways.
Her Story's core gameplay takes the form of a simulated 90s Windows desktop that's home to a police database of short clips from the interrogation of Hannah Smith, recently convicted of murdering her husband Simon. Using only the database's search function, you must unearth the truth by taking note of words or phrases that Hannah uses as well as names and locations that are frequently mentioned.
It's all very impressive and intuitive to begin with. The presentation and feeling of scouring a mid-90s police database are certainly novel and work in the game's favor. However, the clips you are given in response to your query only show up 5 at a time, with the game encouraging you to use other words in tandem to get more results. While this can work, you'd be surprised at how many clips repeat the same information or don't give you enough new information to be able to find them.
For instance, about 10 of those clips are just Hannah answering yes and no to a lie detector, with no feasible way to access them other than brute forcing the search function in order to get them in rotation, something I had to do by the game's end in order to complete the database.
No disrespect to Viva herself, but her performance as Hannah is... spotty. There are certainly parts where she gives great delivery, but also other parts that feel a bit wooden? In fairness, though, due to the nature of the story as it unravels, one could argue that some of that woodenness is intentional, but that remains to be seen.
As for the 'mystery' as a whole, unlocking the various twists and turns by yourself, sometimes by accident, can be rewarding. However, when you look at the narrative in its entirety, it's safe to say that some of Sam's Silent Hill-isms carried over. It's hard to explain without spoilers but you'll know it when you hear it.
All in all, Her Story can be a fun and engaging exercise in presentation and investigation, but also a frustrating and messy one too.
6/10
Não sei se considero Her Story um jogo de fato, pois apesar de ser uma obra interativa com finalidade de entreter, não há como vencer ou perder.
O título é ambientado nos anos 90 e permite você acessar o banco de dados da polícia por um computador, em busca de vídeos sobre uma mulher acusada de assassinato, sem nenhuma explicação prévia (dependendo apenas de arquivos de texto readme explicando a mecânica). São mais de 200 vídeos para buscar e assistir, se assemelhando à uma espécie de puzzle pois você deve organizá-los à seu favor para procurar as respostas que surgem como "Quem é esta moça? o que ela fez? por que ela fez? como ela fez e contra quem?"
É um jogo que te permite interpretar das mais diversas formas e você só o termina quando estiver satisfeito. Há uma forma correta de "terminar" o jogo mas você só descobre ao decorrer da gameplay.
Sam Barlow, desenvolvedor de Her Story, criou com este título, uma forma nova de contar histórias. Porém, nada seria tão bom se não fosse a bela atuação de Viva Seifert, atriz que interpreta a moça dos vídeos.
Recomendo jogar com um ou mais amigos, acompanhado de uma folha ou caderninho. Foi o que fiz e mudou completamente minha experiência. Bolar teorias e explicações junto com outras pessoas cria uma imersão que nunca vi em outros jogos.
Infelizmente é uma sensação que só se sente uma vez. Difícil ter outro jogo com o mesmo sentimento que Her Story trouxe.
Recomendo 100%
O título é ambientado nos anos 90 e permite você acessar o banco de dados da polícia por um computador, em busca de vídeos sobre uma mulher acusada de assassinato, sem nenhuma explicação prévia (dependendo apenas de arquivos de texto readme explicando a mecânica). São mais de 200 vídeos para buscar e assistir, se assemelhando à uma espécie de puzzle pois você deve organizá-los à seu favor para procurar as respostas que surgem como "Quem é esta moça? o que ela fez? por que ela fez? como ela fez e contra quem?"
É um jogo que te permite interpretar das mais diversas formas e você só o termina quando estiver satisfeito. Há uma forma correta de "terminar" o jogo mas você só descobre ao decorrer da gameplay.
Sam Barlow, desenvolvedor de Her Story, criou com este título, uma forma nova de contar histórias. Porém, nada seria tão bom se não fosse a bela atuação de Viva Seifert, atriz que interpreta a moça dos vídeos.
Recomendo jogar com um ou mais amigos, acompanhado de uma folha ou caderninho. Foi o que fiz e mudou completamente minha experiência. Bolar teorias e explicações junto com outras pessoas cria uma imersão que nunca vi em outros jogos.
Infelizmente é uma sensação que só se sente uma vez. Difícil ter outro jogo com o mesmo sentimento que Her Story trouxe.
Recomendo 100%
Her Story is an interesting format for an FMV. I really enjoyed this game. It's well focused and has enough little bits to keep you going. It isn't perfect though. The pacing can be strange if you aren't used to keyword searching and you can accidentally spoil the ending if you're really good at guessing the right keywords or are typing things at random. Overall however It's enjoyable and I think it earned the awards it's won. Especially since it did some things that were very new at the time and did them pretty well.
Este é um jogo que eu vou pensar sobre o que ele faz durante muito tempo. Não vou me aprofundar por que é algo que é melhor experenciado.
A fun experience, sort of like the next step further from active gameplay in the direction that visual novels go, a collection of cutscenes that you need to piece together. It is a challenge to get all the facts, and understand, but not too tough, and past a certain point they give you speed tools so that's nice. 4/5 cause i wish it was easier to watch things you already saw in order
a genius concept with wonderful acting backing it up. i think it gets across its eerie aura well.
tried to use it in ESL class a few times -- sometimes the the students were into it, though its britishness turned them off.
tried to use it in ESL class a few times -- sometimes the the students were into it, though its britishness turned them off.
é bom mas não é bom bom
i remember i thought this game was so cool then never played it to the end
Her Story is a crime fiction game with non-linear storytelling, it revolves around a police database full of live action video footage. You search the database and explore hundreds of clips to discover her story. It’s her story, but it’s also your story.
It's a fantastic story with a lot of mystery in it that you get to unravel with each clip you watch. The search functionality is almost addicting, helping you feel like you're a genius for following gut feelings and ideas instead of pushing you in a linear direction. At the end, there is a revelation, but the story itself through the clips remains vague and mysterious, driving you to your own conclusions.
It's a great game, worth playing if you enjoy these types of games. Though, in my opinion, it's better to get it at a sale, since many people might find the slow build up and the vague ending boring.
It's a fantastic story with a lot of mystery in it that you get to unravel with each clip you watch. The search functionality is almost addicting, helping you feel like you're a genius for following gut feelings and ideas instead of pushing you in a linear direction. At the end, there is a revelation, but the story itself through the clips remains vague and mysterious, driving you to your own conclusions.
It's a great game, worth playing if you enjoy these types of games. Though, in my opinion, it's better to get it at a sale, since many people might find the slow build up and the vague ending boring.
Antes de experienciar Her Story eu ouvia algumas pessoas conversar sobre os jogos de Sam Barlow os julgando como peças acima de tudo criativas e após jogar, afirmo que esse é um adjetivo justo de se dar a obra.
O jogo não te entrega muito além de um software que busca vídeos em um banco de dados através de palavras chaves. A palavra sugerida no inicio é “MURDER” que nos entrega pequenos clipes que de cara revelam os fundamentos basicos para iniciarmos essa grande investigação: Houve o assassinato de um homem, marido da mulher que está sendo interrogada nos videos, e está claro que ela é uma das suspeitas.
O jogo não te entrega os clipes em ordem cronológica e isso é faz parte da experiência, pois é se expondo a essa quantidade massiva de informações que vai se criando em nossas cabeças uma série de teorias que vão se confirmando certas ou erradas durante todo o processo. Mas o que parece ser pouco intuitivo no começo logo passa a fluir de maneira surpreendentemente bem, as peças vão se encaixando e quando pensa que não, somos fisgados por uma excelente escrita e investidos numa trama instigante, admirando os detalhes, entendo as alegorias e se empolgando com os plot twists.
Finalizando o jogo, me peguei perplexo ao olhar o relógio e ver que já era quase quatro horas da manhã, vendo os créditos e admirando, sobretudo após entender a história, o quão bem trabalhado são as personagens do jogo e as atuações que lhes dão vida, além do quão elaborado são os detalhes e minuciosidades que o ao fim fazem todo sentido.
O jogo não te entrega muito além de um software que busca vídeos em um banco de dados através de palavras chaves. A palavra sugerida no inicio é “MURDER” que nos entrega pequenos clipes que de cara revelam os fundamentos basicos para iniciarmos essa grande investigação: Houve o assassinato de um homem, marido da mulher que está sendo interrogada nos videos, e está claro que ela é uma das suspeitas.
O jogo não te entrega os clipes em ordem cronológica e isso é faz parte da experiência, pois é se expondo a essa quantidade massiva de informações que vai se criando em nossas cabeças uma série de teorias que vão se confirmando certas ou erradas durante todo o processo. Mas o que parece ser pouco intuitivo no começo logo passa a fluir de maneira surpreendentemente bem, as peças vão se encaixando e quando pensa que não, somos fisgados por uma excelente escrita e investidos numa trama instigante, admirando os detalhes, entendo as alegorias e se empolgando com os plot twists.
Finalizando o jogo, me peguei perplexo ao olhar o relógio e ver que já era quase quatro horas da manhã, vendo os créditos e admirando, sobretudo após entender a história, o quão bem trabalhado são as personagens do jogo e as atuações que lhes dão vida, além do quão elaborado são os detalhes e minuciosidades que o ao fim fazem todo sentido.
unlike Gone Home the mistery has a really satisfying revelation
Pep's Detective Deep Dive - Game 8
Going from "the two good non-Team Silent Silent Hill games" to this is a hell of jump for Sam Barlow. A far cry from the psychological horrors of his previous work, Her Story is a quiet, FMV murder-mystery that definitely goes into the "not for everyone" pile.
The gameplay is relatively simple: you're presented with an archaic police database system, full of clips from a series of detective interviews with a woman whose missing husband has turned up murdered. Your job is to use the search system to find clips, watch them, and find out what happened. That's it.
It's not immediately obvious at first, but you don't need to do anything other than watch the clips. You don't have to place them on a timeline in the correct order or anything like that. Hell, you don't even need to watch every clip to "finish" the game. At a certain point, the game will decide that you've seen enough to know what happened and gives you the option to roll the credits, should you so choose. But you absolutely should try to watch as much as you can. Why? Because of Her.
Viva Seifert's performance as the titular Her is nothing short of mesmerising. She's natural, she's likeable, and the gamut of emotions she runs through in a relatively short series of videos is astounding. Once you reach a certain point in the story, you begin to really notice all these subtleties in her acting, and it really brings the game to another level. That Game Award she won was well-deserved.
The narrative twists and turns as well as any good crime thriller. The non-linear nature of finding the clips means that you only get the story in bite-size chunks, and your interpretation is always changing based on what new info you've just seen. It's like Sam Barlow dumps all the puzzle pieces in front of you and says "figure it out".
The joy is in paying attention, making notes of any potential keywords and finding that next important clip to give you another chunk of the story. Finding the one clip that recontextualises the entire story was an incredibly satisfying moment for me. And even then, when you've seen every clip there is to see, there's just enough ambiguity left in certain story threads to keep you wondering long after the credits have rolled.
It's absolutely not for everyone - hell, a few years back this wouldn't have been for me either - but if you've got a few hours then grab some friends, a notebook and pen and get sleuthing.
Going from "the two good non-Team Silent Silent Hill games" to this is a hell of jump for Sam Barlow. A far cry from the psychological horrors of his previous work, Her Story is a quiet, FMV murder-mystery that definitely goes into the "not for everyone" pile.
The gameplay is relatively simple: you're presented with an archaic police database system, full of clips from a series of detective interviews with a woman whose missing husband has turned up murdered. Your job is to use the search system to find clips, watch them, and find out what happened. That's it.
It's not immediately obvious at first, but you don't need to do anything other than watch the clips. You don't have to place them on a timeline in the correct order or anything like that. Hell, you don't even need to watch every clip to "finish" the game. At a certain point, the game will decide that you've seen enough to know what happened and gives you the option to roll the credits, should you so choose. But you absolutely should try to watch as much as you can. Why? Because of Her.
Viva Seifert's performance as the titular Her is nothing short of mesmerising. She's natural, she's likeable, and the gamut of emotions she runs through in a relatively short series of videos is astounding. Once you reach a certain point in the story, you begin to really notice all these subtleties in her acting, and it really brings the game to another level. That Game Award she won was well-deserved.
The narrative twists and turns as well as any good crime thriller. The non-linear nature of finding the clips means that you only get the story in bite-size chunks, and your interpretation is always changing based on what new info you've just seen. It's like Sam Barlow dumps all the puzzle pieces in front of you and says "figure it out".
The joy is in paying attention, making notes of any potential keywords and finding that next important clip to give you another chunk of the story. Finding the one clip that recontextualises the entire story was an incredibly satisfying moment for me. And even then, when you've seen every clip there is to see, there's just enough ambiguity left in certain story threads to keep you wondering long after the credits have rolled.
It's absolutely not for everyone - hell, a few years back this wouldn't have been for me either - but if you've got a few hours then grab some friends, a notebook and pen and get sleuthing.
the music is like episode music so its emotional for me
good story. unique gameplay that gets repetitive. idk its good.
good story. unique gameplay that gets repetitive. idk its good.
Talked about this one on my podcast The Safe Room.
I don't mind the apparatus of this, but I do think it is poorly used here? Basically the trick of the mystery is just getting to the last run of clips, where Hannah explains the plot in entirety to you. You can do a lot of work to construct the mystery that the game ends up just doing for you. Could stand for more ambiguity.
I thought about Delores Claiborne (the novel specifically) a lot playing this, which does veer into horror briefly, but is ultimately mundane. Her Story is about women and police in only the most superficial ways. It can't really muster a systemic awareness or make that emotive. Claiborne has a scene were Delores goes to the bank to take out her daughter's college savings... only to find her husband has withdrawn them all. Her Story's direction is ultimately abstract and fairy-tale-like and it could far more biting mundanities.
I don't mind the apparatus of this, but I do think it is poorly used here? Basically the trick of the mystery is just getting to the last run of clips, where Hannah explains the plot in entirety to you. You can do a lot of work to construct the mystery that the game ends up just doing for you. Could stand for more ambiguity.
I thought about Delores Claiborne (the novel specifically) a lot playing this, which does veer into horror briefly, but is ultimately mundane. Her Story is about women and police in only the most superficial ways. It can't really muster a systemic awareness or make that emotive. Claiborne has a scene were Delores goes to the bank to take out her daughter's college savings... only to find her husband has withdrawn them all. Her Story's direction is ultimately abstract and fairy-tale-like and it could far more biting mundanities.
I managed to discourage myself from engaging with Her Story for quite a while, because I'd seen many people relate that they'd stumbled upon the solution "early" after having a cunning insight or lucky guess. After playing it, I feel like this was totally intentional: that the game paces itself, so to speak, such that any order you attack it will produce a viable story structure and "aha!" moments. It's not stingy with its clues, instead trusting the player to self-pace. The more I think about it, that's a really impressive magic trick.
My wife and I played it together--probably the best way to play it, really, in a group tossing out keywords. We got all the key scenes and the prompt to finish having seen (iirc) just under half the clips, then watched them again in chronological order for full context. (Appreciate that this was not a requirement for basic completion.)
In a story like this, character work is make-or-break, and Viva Seifert's performance carried it. I really don't expect to come out of a mystery like this feeling strongly about the characters, but here I really did. The subgenre turn might not be for everyone, but it worked for me.
My wife and I played it together--probably the best way to play it, really, in a group tossing out keywords. We got all the key scenes and the prompt to finish having seen (iirc) just under half the clips, then watched them again in chronological order for full context. (Appreciate that this was not a requirement for basic completion.)
In a story like this, character work is make-or-break, and Viva Seifert's performance carried it. I really don't expect to come out of a mystery like this feeling strongly about the characters, but here I really did. The subgenre turn might not be for everyone, but it worked for me.
Muito bom o recomendados do Youtube ter me lembrado dessa jóia rara dos FMV
dnf (definitely did not exhaust all or even most of the clips within the hour i played). will probably go back for another session considering how short it is meant to be
So after seeing Sam Barlow's new games announced (and immortality being one of my favorite games of 2022, I figured it was high time I finally got back to this and finished it (I had started it a long time ago). I knew it was short, and it wouldn't take me too long.
What unfolded over the next three hours was just a wonderful, creepy, chilling, moving, and just all around great little story. I do wish there was a bit more meat on the bone here so to speak (something that Immortality definitely improves on), but this is still something worth checking out one rainy afternoon when you got nothing else going on.
Sam Barlow is a wonderful creative force in this industry, and I can't wait to see what they do next!!!
What unfolded over the next three hours was just a wonderful, creepy, chilling, moving, and just all around great little story. I do wish there was a bit more meat on the bone here so to speak (something that Immortality definitely improves on), but this is still something worth checking out one rainy afternoon when you got nothing else going on.
Sam Barlow is a wonderful creative force in this industry, and I can't wait to see what they do next!!!
Through a compilation of short videos of an interrogation room, this game manages to present a very compelling and fascinating story. Right from the get-go, it manages to captivate you with a single word, murder, and you'll have to understand what it means and you'll WANT to know why it's there.
It's amazing how this game manages to hook you so easily into doing this investigation work. The nature of the game also makes it that every player will take their own path and make reach a different answer. At the end of the game, I was honestly far from being fixated on an answer and I must admit to having watched all the footage in the proper order, in the game's folder, before I could really understand what's going on.
I think this game truly creates a morbid, fascinating atmosphere that really makes you feel the dread of your average household incident. It's a "slice of life" of real life horror.
It's amazing how this game manages to hook you so easily into doing this investigation work. The nature of the game also makes it that every player will take their own path and make reach a different answer. At the end of the game, I was honestly far from being fixated on an answer and I must admit to having watched all the footage in the proper order, in the game's folder, before I could really understand what's going on.
I think this game truly creates a morbid, fascinating atmosphere that really makes you feel the dread of your average household incident. It's a "slice of life" of real life horror.
Игра не для фанатов Овервотча, конечно...
Занятная история с интересной подачей, но довольно простенькая и не дожатая. Вдохновлено одним из фильмов Нолана.
Занятная история с интересной подачей, но довольно простенькая и не дожатая. Вдохновлено одним из фильмов Нолана.
You play as an unknown user who’s currently investigating the case of a woman who has done something you are unsure of. Not even kidding that’s how the game starts. You traverse through the database looking up words that would appear potentially in the transcript of the video evidence files. Through your search you slowly uncover who the woman is and what they’ve done.
Ending was pretty predictable. The search history I left on that in game computer may come back to haunt me.
Ending was pretty predictable. The search history I left on that in game computer may come back to haunt me.
Interesting game. You have to search words to find videos in an archive of a woman declaration about the death of her husband.
Different approach that starts creating a feeling of being in an investigation and directing it to where we want. But at the end it ends feeling like a dictionary search for random words.
Nice touches and things like the relation with fairytales, her life and so, but also not one memorable story to stand on its own.
Different approach that starts creating a feeling of being in an investigation and directing it to where we want. But at the end it ends feeling like a dictionary search for random words.
Nice touches and things like the relation with fairytales, her life and so, but also not one memorable story to stand on its own.
I think I might have been slightly over hyped for this game. As while I was able to go into the game 100% blind, as I believe most should, it didn't come away thinking this was the greatest detective game of all time like my friend's had told me. However, this is still a fantastic game, with a great story, and a fun and very interesting concept. I just have a few small gripes with it that I wont get into for spoiler reasons; but gripes that are diffidently in no way reasons to not play Her Story. I recommend this to all.
A very fun little game about going through videos of a case file and putting together all the pieces of the situation. The story is very interesting and it pulls you in like a detective case as you do get an option to leave, but you can stay and continue to try and put all the pieces together and understand what happened.
Gameplay is quite minimal by going through the search engine to find various videos that give you clues to the next few videos and you can continue to branch on and discover the truth. It was a very satisfying experience and some great acting too.
Gameplay is quite minimal by going through the search engine to find various videos that give you clues to the next few videos and you can continue to branch on and discover the truth. It was a very satisfying experience and some great acting too.
This review contains spoilers
Fiquei bem empolgado de jogar esse jogo depois de uma recomendação de um amigo. O jogo é bem legal, fiquei muito curioso pra saber como que o assassinato aconteceu e como funcionava a singularidade das duas mentes dentro do mesmo corpo. Em geral foi uma experiência legal e instigante.
it's complicated. and it takes a while to fully get. even after it's over you're not entirely sure of the outcome, you can only speculate. the mechanics are unique though, and definitely work well for the type of story you're going through. i enjoy it