The voice acting, writing, and art style are phenomenal. However, the plodding overworld walking speed coupled with constant backtracking and near-meaningless resource management were a huge turn-off. DNF.
One of the very few good things about the Epic Games store and possibly the only good thing is the free games that they give out. I own more games on there than I do on Steam I think. A lot of those games, however, are real stinkers. Every so often they will give out a big title, but most of the time you are getting mid ass indies and in that pile of indies are gems like this.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a very unique game. It is in a way a collectathon, but instead of getting stars or any similar shiny object you gather stories. Scary ones, hopeful ones, sad ones, love stories and you tell those stories to people and you see them change and evolve as you travel across an early 20th century USA.
I have not played enough of this game to properly review it. I just can't really get myself to be super excited to play it and I can't pinpoint why that is, because this seems like a game that I should really enjoy. It could be that the game-play loop gets repetitive or that the game sometimes just feels to slow I am not sure.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a very unique game. It is in a way a collectathon, but instead of getting stars or any similar shiny object you gather stories. Scary ones, hopeful ones, sad ones, love stories and you tell those stories to people and you see them change and evolve as you travel across an early 20th century USA.
I have not played enough of this game to properly review it. I just can't really get myself to be super excited to play it and I can't pinpoint why that is, because this seems like a game that I should really enjoy. It could be that the game-play loop gets repetitive or that the game sometimes just feels to slow I am not sure.
great writing, but im not sure if ill play it again.
I gave this game a couple of chances but it's difficult for me personally to keep at it. Let me know if I'm misjudging the cons in case the game opens up much further in the game, which it doesn't as you get to the middle of the U.S.
The pros: the art and voice acting for each story bit is a good touch... and that's about it. The actual stories are good and well written but they are each criminally short and lack engagement other than "do X" or "do Y" sometimes.
The cons:
- Visuals: The art style outside of the story section doesn't look good personally - seems to try to have a cell-shaded art style but is very flat and bland due to the world being simple. Also, there's this weird shimmering that is very noticeable on the docked display where during story sections, both the text box and the actual image shimmer annoyingly. This doesn't happen in other switch games.
- Audio: the same 3 tracks of folk music, gets pretty grating. Some of the voice-acting is actually good and sounds professional (narrator, hobo boy). Others sound like they're a random dev recording inside a cardboard box lol.
- Technical: performance is really bad for what the game is trying to achieve on the switch hardware. The radial menu to select stories is extremely finicky and at some points bugs out spamming a choice from the analog screen. Additionally, difficult menu navigation during storytelling.
- Gameplay: just.. walking. You can whistle which slightly increases speed and hitchhike, hop trains, and pay trains which is tedious to do (time, health, and money penalties respectively). It's all extremely slow.
- Progression: to complete the game, you have to track down 16 separate NPCs through the huge map of the U.S. (which is already really slow). You have to give the types of stories they ask for but even if you do, you could only progress them if you track them down somewhere else on the map and give them brand new stories they want to hear. This is done for each character, for multiple chapters, running after them a huge map that's tedious to navigate.
Ended up dropping it when I realized how tedious the game was, that it wasn't worth it to stick through for the more interesting micro-stories.
The pros: the art and voice acting for each story bit is a good touch... and that's about it. The actual stories are good and well written but they are each criminally short and lack engagement other than "do X" or "do Y" sometimes.
The cons:
- Visuals: The art style outside of the story section doesn't look good personally - seems to try to have a cell-shaded art style but is very flat and bland due to the world being simple. Also, there's this weird shimmering that is very noticeable on the docked display where during story sections, both the text box and the actual image shimmer annoyingly. This doesn't happen in other switch games.
- Audio: the same 3 tracks of folk music, gets pretty grating. Some of the voice-acting is actually good and sounds professional (narrator, hobo boy). Others sound like they're a random dev recording inside a cardboard box lol.
- Technical: performance is really bad for what the game is trying to achieve on the switch hardware. The radial menu to select stories is extremely finicky and at some points bugs out spamming a choice from the analog screen. Additionally, difficult menu navigation during storytelling.
- Gameplay: just.. walking. You can whistle which slightly increases speed and hitchhike, hop trains, and pay trains which is tedious to do (time, health, and money penalties respectively). It's all extremely slow.
- Progression: to complete the game, you have to track down 16 separate NPCs through the huge map of the U.S. (which is already really slow). You have to give the types of stories they ask for but even if you do, you could only progress them if you track them down somewhere else on the map and give them brand new stories they want to hear. This is done for each character, for multiple chapters, running after them a huge map that's tedious to navigate.
Ended up dropping it when I realized how tedious the game was, that it wasn't worth it to stick through for the more interesting micro-stories.
Sights & Sounds
- The visual design is a bit of a mixed bag. The artwork for the characters and story cards is amazing. The kind of stuff you'd want to buy prints of and hang on your wall. The main map where you spend most of your time, however, is fairly barren, largely uninteresting to look at despite the amount of time you spend looking at it, and maybe even a little ugly
- There's some intriguing sound design choices that wind up falling flat on their face due to the game's other deficiencies. I love the idea of having a central musical motif that changes as you visit other parts of the country. Unfortunately, you spend so long on the map that you'll grow weary of the same lyrics over and over again. At this point, I think I even know the Spanish version. In a vacuum, the song would be really good, but I don't think I ever want to hear it again
- The voice acting is pretty good. No complaints there
Story & Vibes
- A wolf tells you to go collect stories in the US for him to eat. I'm sure it's an allegory I don't quite understand
- The game takes place in the US, obviously, but the time period is intentionally ambiguous. It appears to be basically anytime and everytime in between 1890 and 1970
- At its best, the game is soulful, beautiful, and enigmatic. The art and music in the character transformation sequences are a feast for the senses. The character-focused stories that precede these are genuinely interesting and well-written as well
- Those moments are brief. The remainder of the game is mind-numbingly boring and honestly takes too long to complete. There's no payoff to the story, either. You just walk slowly around a map for several hours experiencing brief moments of whimsy until the game ends with no fanfare and barely any intrigue. The ending isn't bad on its own; I probably could have enjoyed it if the game weren't so monotonous
Playability & Replayability
- As you travel the country, you'll pick up little stories at the various locations you visit on the map. Some of them are familiar Americana (Paul Bunyan, the devil at the crossroads, La Llorona, etc), but others appear to be original. Compiling all these stories, even as small vignettes, is pretty impressive, and they're pretty cool to read. I liked the city-specific ones too
- These stories can grow and "level up" as they evolve into more unrealistic (but more exciting) versions of the actual events. These leveled up stories are important tools for entertaining the named recurring characters you meet along the way
- These named characters, 8 in total, appear at campsites that move around on the map. As you chat with them at their fire, they'll request stories with different emotional affects (funny, exciting, scary, sad, etc). If you pick an appropriate story, you'll learn a bit more about that character. Repeatedly succeeding at this task as you follow their campsite around will eventually transform the character and unlock their story for use at other campsites. These character stories function as wildcards and are pretty useful
- All of this would be enjoyable if your PS2 skeleton hobo didn't shamble across the map so slowly. Sure, there's ways built into the game to move across the US faster, but they have annoying drawbacks that make them more inconvenient then hitting the autowalk button and doing something else for a while. The trains cost money (you won't have much) and may or may not be headed in the direction you want to go. The "fast-walk" requires you to play a rhythmless rhythm game while skeleton bum whistles atonally (and in grating contrast to the background music). You may notice that if you're trying to control your direction and camera at the same time, you may not have another hand free for the rhythm game, so be prepared to alternate awkwardly between that and the camera. You'll eventually abandon all efforts of using it anyway when you realize it doesn't make you move appreciably faster. Even the fast-travel is only marginally useful; fast-travel locations are contingent on completing character stories, and there's no real reason to return to a region of the country after you've completed the character stories there
- The decision to never change the gameplay loop in any way whatsoever during the entire 10+ hours of the game adds a nuanced layer to the tedium
Overall Impressions & Performance
- This game takes a bunch of appealing ideas, memorable stories, catchy music, and gorgeous artwork, then arranges them in the least appetizing way possible
- To analogize the gameplay loop, imagine that you are going to see a highly-anticipated movie. Instead of watching it normally, you're required to leave your seat and walk--not run or jog--a lap around the theater's parking lot while the same Old Crow Medicine Show song plays on loop to advance the movie 15 minutes. Sure, the film is nice, but you spend most of your time looking at a flat surface with lines on it while being behaviorally conditioned to hate banjos
- While walking around the map, I frequently experienced inexplicable framerate issues on a setup that has no trouble playing modern AAA games
Final Verdict
- 3/10. If the entire game were scaled down (or maybe if the travel options were better), it would have been a better experience. It's frustrating how the pacing subverts every effort you make to enjoy the game
- The visual design is a bit of a mixed bag. The artwork for the characters and story cards is amazing. The kind of stuff you'd want to buy prints of and hang on your wall. The main map where you spend most of your time, however, is fairly barren, largely uninteresting to look at despite the amount of time you spend looking at it, and maybe even a little ugly
- There's some intriguing sound design choices that wind up falling flat on their face due to the game's other deficiencies. I love the idea of having a central musical motif that changes as you visit other parts of the country. Unfortunately, you spend so long on the map that you'll grow weary of the same lyrics over and over again. At this point, I think I even know the Spanish version. In a vacuum, the song would be really good, but I don't think I ever want to hear it again
- The voice acting is pretty good. No complaints there
Story & Vibes
- A wolf tells you to go collect stories in the US for him to eat. I'm sure it's an allegory I don't quite understand
- The game takes place in the US, obviously, but the time period is intentionally ambiguous. It appears to be basically anytime and everytime in between 1890 and 1970
- At its best, the game is soulful, beautiful, and enigmatic. The art and music in the character transformation sequences are a feast for the senses. The character-focused stories that precede these are genuinely interesting and well-written as well
- Those moments are brief. The remainder of the game is mind-numbingly boring and honestly takes too long to complete. There's no payoff to the story, either. You just walk slowly around a map for several hours experiencing brief moments of whimsy until the game ends with no fanfare and barely any intrigue. The ending isn't bad on its own; I probably could have enjoyed it if the game weren't so monotonous
Playability & Replayability
- As you travel the country, you'll pick up little stories at the various locations you visit on the map. Some of them are familiar Americana (Paul Bunyan, the devil at the crossroads, La Llorona, etc), but others appear to be original. Compiling all these stories, even as small vignettes, is pretty impressive, and they're pretty cool to read. I liked the city-specific ones too
- These stories can grow and "level up" as they evolve into more unrealistic (but more exciting) versions of the actual events. These leveled up stories are important tools for entertaining the named recurring characters you meet along the way
- These named characters, 8 in total, appear at campsites that move around on the map. As you chat with them at their fire, they'll request stories with different emotional affects (funny, exciting, scary, sad, etc). If you pick an appropriate story, you'll learn a bit more about that character. Repeatedly succeeding at this task as you follow their campsite around will eventually transform the character and unlock their story for use at other campsites. These character stories function as wildcards and are pretty useful
- All of this would be enjoyable if your PS2 skeleton hobo didn't shamble across the map so slowly. Sure, there's ways built into the game to move across the US faster, but they have annoying drawbacks that make them more inconvenient then hitting the autowalk button and doing something else for a while. The trains cost money (you won't have much) and may or may not be headed in the direction you want to go. The "fast-walk" requires you to play a rhythmless rhythm game while skeleton bum whistles atonally (and in grating contrast to the background music). You may notice that if you're trying to control your direction and camera at the same time, you may not have another hand free for the rhythm game, so be prepared to alternate awkwardly between that and the camera. You'll eventually abandon all efforts of using it anyway when you realize it doesn't make you move appreciably faster. Even the fast-travel is only marginally useful; fast-travel locations are contingent on completing character stories, and there's no real reason to return to a region of the country after you've completed the character stories there
- The decision to never change the gameplay loop in any way whatsoever during the entire 10+ hours of the game adds a nuanced layer to the tedium
Overall Impressions & Performance
- This game takes a bunch of appealing ideas, memorable stories, catchy music, and gorgeous artwork, then arranges them in the least appetizing way possible
- To analogize the gameplay loop, imagine that you are going to see a highly-anticipated movie. Instead of watching it normally, you're required to leave your seat and walk--not run or jog--a lap around the theater's parking lot while the same Old Crow Medicine Show song plays on loop to advance the movie 15 minutes. Sure, the film is nice, but you spend most of your time looking at a flat surface with lines on it while being behaviorally conditioned to hate banjos
- While walking around the map, I frequently experienced inexplicable framerate issues on a setup that has no trouble playing modern AAA games
Final Verdict
- 3/10. If the entire game were scaled down (or maybe if the travel options were better), it would have been a better experience. It's frustrating how the pacing subverts every effort you make to enjoy the game
Wasted potential - the video game.
The premise of the game is one that is absolutely dear to me: The power of stories, how they connect us, how they can change our lives a little bit. Personally, I believe that humans were made to tell and share stories, it's in our blood. They're something really sacred.
It pains me even more to admit that almost everything about Where the Water Tastes Like Wine felt pretty undercooked. From the practically useless map to its weird approach to plot progression, nothing really clicked with me.
Although I found some of the stories in the game rather beautiful, they felt also very shallow. I grew tired of the whole concept after playing for a bit, mostly because some of the tales you hear were quite similar to each other and never felt unique enough to actually be rememberable.
That being sad, I appreciate what the devs were trying to do. Just wish they would have thought about this a bit more before releasing it. The soundtrack is wonderful, though.
The premise of the game is one that is absolutely dear to me: The power of stories, how they connect us, how they can change our lives a little bit. Personally, I believe that humans were made to tell and share stories, it's in our blood. They're something really sacred.
It pains me even more to admit that almost everything about Where the Water Tastes Like Wine felt pretty undercooked. From the practically useless map to its weird approach to plot progression, nothing really clicked with me.
Although I found some of the stories in the game rather beautiful, they felt also very shallow. I grew tired of the whole concept after playing for a bit, mostly because some of the tales you hear were quite similar to each other and never felt unique enough to actually be rememberable.
That being sad, I appreciate what the devs were trying to do. Just wish they would have thought about this a bit more before releasing it. The soundtrack is wonderful, though.
Interesting and creativie concept with well written characters but wears out its welcome very quickly. Sort of janky in terms of production which really hurts the atmosphere . Music choices are also somewhat bizarre and get old very quickly unless you just so happen to love the pop-folk song playing the whole time. Overall just a bit of a tedious game. Almost felt like I was being catfished by the trailer because it looked so promising there.
Wandering through the countryside and collecting the stories was such a unique experience, I've never encountered another game quite like this. I spent hours immersed in this world and it really made me think about the power of storytelling... and it was always fun to see one of my threads evolve into a story I recognized from real life!
Unfortunately once you clear out more of the map it starts to get a bit tedious to walk around and the storytelling aspect becomes a bit grindy. But the journey is beautiful even if the ending isn't perfect.
Unfortunately once you clear out more of the map it starts to get a bit tedious to walk around and the storytelling aspect becomes a bit grindy. But the journey is beautiful even if the ending isn't perfect.
This review contains spoilers
A Note: This reveiw is a slightly edited version of a previous review I made on Steam.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is probably the perfect example of a "Diamond in the Rough" kind of game. A majority of the game play is a walking simulator, traveling between towns and cities, collecting stories and speaking to the sixteen characters(seventeen, if you count The Dire Wolf voiced by Sting, whom you can only speak to if and when you die) who are the closest thing to a "main objective" you have in the game. The stories you can collect range from hopping into a taxi and seeing the future, to meeting a man who makes molasses, to encountering a fish fishing for people, and even encounter famous characters from American Folk Tales, such as The Jersey Devil, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and even that oh so classic villain of American folk lore, none other than The Devil himself (Whom you can meet Twice, too, considering there's an achievement for it and all).
As you encounter these various tales, you'll find that as you tell them, they'll rather quickly grow and change from your initial encounters. The story about a lighthouse that is home to a pair of gay lighthouse keepers in love evolves into a lighthouse sanctuary for lovers and then to a magical lantern that can detect true love, or the story of the bull that kills travelers that changes into the bull king seeking vengeance which changes into the Devil taking on the form of a bull to terrorize sinners. So much of the game focuses on these strange and wild tales, but sadly it only uses them for a single purpose, as puzzle pieces to unlock conversations with the main Sixteen/Seventeen characters.
Now, don't get me wrong. Many of their stories are touching, sad, haunting, or all of the above. Some of my favorites(without major spoilers) are Ray, the Cowboy who loves a desert that is rapidly being fenced in and away under the control of the government and various private citizens, Little Ben, the fugitive Coal Miner wanted for joining one of America's first Unions, Alathea, the Blues Singer who made a perfect deal with the devil, only for the devil to show why he always wins, and Cassady, the poet stuck constantly thinking of the man he loves. These characters and the other twelve all have stories you must parse out, by telling them the many stories you've encountered during your travels.
This one area, the retelling of the tales, is personally one of the biggest failings of the game, because you don't actually get to "Tell the Tale". You don't get to spin the yarn, change the story as you go, or even get much in the way of forewarning about what kind of story you're telling. The characters will simply request a "Funny" story, or a "Hopeful" one, or an "Exciting" one, and when you choose one, the scene will shift to a gray background where the illustration representing the story will pop up, along with words that go along the lines of "You told them the story of the Cow with Scales" or some such. And that's it.
Add onto this how the names of the stories can be misleading to the tone the story actually has, or how the evolution of the story can change the tone completely, at least in theory, but not in the slightest in practice. For example, the tale of the Graverobber in the Indian Burial Mound whom I scared away to never return by telling him scary stories about ghosts is a pretty sad story. The tale of the Native American Robin Hood who Rescues the Remains of his People from the thieving white man sounds more like a hopeful adventure story, yet somehow retains the exact same tone as the original version in game.
Another odd part is the "True Stories", those stories of the Sixteen characters you're tasked with collecting, which can be used to help you with other characters, but are better than normal stories because these ones can be used with any request and still work. But, thematically speaking, they make no sense. Like, how can I focus on the "Funny Parts" of the WWI Vet's story about his brother dying. I mean, what the hell man? Or how do you focus on the "Scary Parts" of the Pullman Porter's story of being a black porter for a train company?
A few more things I disliked but felt a bit petty on my part or kinda stupid on the developers part.
While I never encountered any major glitches, I did encounter about half a dozen graphical bugs, such as flickering textures on the overworld and the like.
Despite having originally been released on the PC exclusively and only getting console ports a year after it's release, this game's controls are horridly designed for PC players, and don't even allow you to rebind buttons.
The hitchhiking system feels a tad half baked, mainly because you can hitch a ride with one car and get dropped off less than ten feet down the road, and with a second car get stuck in there for 8 states and completely miss the one place you were trying to get to because there's no way to just hop out of the freaking cars before they force you out.
Oh yeah, and the last achievement is actually impossible to get without cheating, as there isn't a place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, because the place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is actually when you're with good company. And like yeah, I get it, friendship and kindness are more important than any earthly Eden, but say that in the actual game, don't make it impossible to 100% your game. Or heck, they could have hidden the achievement behind you collecting all 200+ stories in the game world, and maybe have the Dire Wolf and/or the Narrator say something along the lines of how despite collecting all these stories, there still isn't a real place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, because the real place is when you're with the people you met on your long journey or some such.
Yet, despite everything, I still love this game. The stories are sad, hopeful, inspiring, funny, and so much more. While I wouldn't recommend the game to everyone, I would recommend Where the Water Tastes Like Wine to just about anyone who's willing to put themselves through less than perfect game play for what believe is a rich and immensely rewarding set of stories.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is probably the perfect example of a "Diamond in the Rough" kind of game. A majority of the game play is a walking simulator, traveling between towns and cities, collecting stories and speaking to the sixteen characters(seventeen, if you count The Dire Wolf voiced by Sting, whom you can only speak to if and when you die) who are the closest thing to a "main objective" you have in the game. The stories you can collect range from hopping into a taxi and seeing the future, to meeting a man who makes molasses, to encountering a fish fishing for people, and even encounter famous characters from American Folk Tales, such as The Jersey Devil, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and even that oh so classic villain of American folk lore, none other than The Devil himself (Whom you can meet Twice, too, considering there's an achievement for it and all).
As you encounter these various tales, you'll find that as you tell them, they'll rather quickly grow and change from your initial encounters. The story about a lighthouse that is home to a pair of gay lighthouse keepers in love evolves into a lighthouse sanctuary for lovers and then to a magical lantern that can detect true love, or the story of the bull that kills travelers that changes into the bull king seeking vengeance which changes into the Devil taking on the form of a bull to terrorize sinners. So much of the game focuses on these strange and wild tales, but sadly it only uses them for a single purpose, as puzzle pieces to unlock conversations with the main Sixteen/Seventeen characters.
Now, don't get me wrong. Many of their stories are touching, sad, haunting, or all of the above. Some of my favorites(without major spoilers) are Ray, the Cowboy who loves a desert that is rapidly being fenced in and away under the control of the government and various private citizens, Little Ben, the fugitive Coal Miner wanted for joining one of America's first Unions, Alathea, the Blues Singer who made a perfect deal with the devil, only for the devil to show why he always wins, and Cassady, the poet stuck constantly thinking of the man he loves. These characters and the other twelve all have stories you must parse out, by telling them the many stories you've encountered during your travels.
This one area, the retelling of the tales, is personally one of the biggest failings of the game, because you don't actually get to "Tell the Tale". You don't get to spin the yarn, change the story as you go, or even get much in the way of forewarning about what kind of story you're telling. The characters will simply request a "Funny" story, or a "Hopeful" one, or an "Exciting" one, and when you choose one, the scene will shift to a gray background where the illustration representing the story will pop up, along with words that go along the lines of "You told them the story of the Cow with Scales" or some such. And that's it.
Add onto this how the names of the stories can be misleading to the tone the story actually has, or how the evolution of the story can change the tone completely, at least in theory, but not in the slightest in practice. For example, the tale of the Graverobber in the Indian Burial Mound whom I scared away to never return by telling him scary stories about ghosts is a pretty sad story. The tale of the Native American Robin Hood who Rescues the Remains of his People from the thieving white man sounds more like a hopeful adventure story, yet somehow retains the exact same tone as the original version in game.
Another odd part is the "True Stories", those stories of the Sixteen characters you're tasked with collecting, which can be used to help you with other characters, but are better than normal stories because these ones can be used with any request and still work. But, thematically speaking, they make no sense. Like, how can I focus on the "Funny Parts" of the WWI Vet's story about his brother dying. I mean, what the hell man? Or how do you focus on the "Scary Parts" of the Pullman Porter's story of being a black porter for a train company?
A few more things I disliked but felt a bit petty on my part or kinda stupid on the developers part.
While I never encountered any major glitches, I did encounter about half a dozen graphical bugs, such as flickering textures on the overworld and the like.
Despite having originally been released on the PC exclusively and only getting console ports a year after it's release, this game's controls are horridly designed for PC players, and don't even allow you to rebind buttons.
The hitchhiking system feels a tad half baked, mainly because you can hitch a ride with one car and get dropped off less than ten feet down the road, and with a second car get stuck in there for 8 states and completely miss the one place you were trying to get to because there's no way to just hop out of the freaking cars before they force you out.
Oh yeah, and the last achievement is actually impossible to get without cheating, as there isn't a place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, because the place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is actually when you're with good company. And like yeah, I get it, friendship and kindness are more important than any earthly Eden, but say that in the actual game, don't make it impossible to 100% your game. Or heck, they could have hidden the achievement behind you collecting all 200+ stories in the game world, and maybe have the Dire Wolf and/or the Narrator say something along the lines of how despite collecting all these stories, there still isn't a real place Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, because the real place is when you're with the people you met on your long journey or some such.
Yet, despite everything, I still love this game. The stories are sad, hopeful, inspiring, funny, and so much more. While I wouldn't recommend the game to everyone, I would recommend Where the Water Tastes Like Wine to just about anyone who's willing to put themselves through less than perfect game play for what believe is a rich and immensely rewarding set of stories.
It's a really unique approach to everything, and the ambience, aesthetic and general feel it gives is top notch and right down my alley.
I guess it's the game that best encapsulates the feeling of something like Mushishi or the oooold dudes who tell stories.
I guess it's the game that best encapsulates the feeling of something like Mushishi or the oooold dudes who tell stories.
Epic
I wanted to love this game. Instead, I only liked it
i thought it was very very interesting. i need to get back to this one
Amo as histórias, odeio ser um esqueleto gigante andando pelos estados unidos
It could have been so much more
I love the idea of this game, the experiencing of so many little weird and wonderful and painful parts of a nation, and the sharing and telling and growth of those experiences into stories. And I did get that, occasionally.
But the rest of the game feels like a first draft of what could be. Editing issues, repetitive content, unpolished mechanics, and a lack of depth and meaning in at least half of the "main" stories.
But the rest of the game feels like a first draft of what could be. Editing issues, repetitive content, unpolished mechanics, and a lack of depth and meaning in at least half of the "main" stories.
In my top 5 favorite games. I understand it is not for everyone, the pacing is slow, the gameplay changes are small and progression can feel glacial. I don't see it that way though; walking from story to story i feel the world grow around. little stops and starts informed by the time period and region. Watching a story build and change as you share it, see your influence on the in game version of Americana is fascinating. I have replayed this game a half a dozen times already and I likely will continue to as the game itself feels akin to a good book being read in a comfy chair on a rainy day.
Lots of good ideas and tons of great talent working on the project almost entirely fumbled by critically trite design. They called it Where The Water Tastes Like Wine but only really gave you Water That Tastes Like Water and a few sips of Wine every couple of hours.