Freebird Games really never fails to disappoint.
These games are made in such a way that despite the pixelated art style and at times basically being a visual novel that you walk through, they consistently succeed at hitting heavy punches and making the characters feel more alive than I would expect. Even just subtle things like characters readjusting their seated position between lines go a long way to build immersion and help combat the feeling that you're just reading a screen.
The main reason I've given this entry a 4/5 is hard to talk about, because the game works hard to subvert expectations in a way that I expect is quite unlikely to see coming. So in the vaguest way possible, I'll just say that the first hour had me excited to play one type of game/story, but within a couple of hours it became clear that what I thought I was in for, was not the case. This isn't a bad thing, and what I got was still fantastic, but it's a shame that my excitement for the former being left hanging resulted in me taking longer to really get into the reality -- or more accurately, I was somewhat distracted throughout a lot of the game, wondering how the opening was relevant or necessary to what was unfolding.
Perhaps I would've preferred if they'd stuck to the formula a bit more, but I appreciate them trying new things and as above they still delivered on what they did very well :)
Overall this was a delight, all the same charm and emotion you'd expect from these devs. If you've played the others definitely give this a try, just be sure to play the games in release order as while not directly connected there are absolutely some callbacks in this that will be lost on you
P.S. You don't need me to tell you but the music is superb, as always 😌
These games are made in such a way that despite the pixelated art style and at times basically being a visual novel that you walk through, they consistently succeed at hitting heavy punches and making the characters feel more alive than I would expect. Even just subtle things like characters readjusting their seated position between lines go a long way to build immersion and help combat the feeling that you're just reading a screen.
The main reason I've given this entry a 4/5 is hard to talk about, because the game works hard to subvert expectations in a way that I expect is quite unlikely to see coming. So in the vaguest way possible, I'll just say that the first hour had me excited to play one type of game/story, but within a couple of hours it became clear that what I thought I was in for, was not the case. This isn't a bad thing, and what I got was still fantastic, but it's a shame that my excitement for the former being left hanging resulted in me taking longer to really get into the reality -- or more accurately, I was somewhat distracted throughout a lot of the game, wondering how the opening was relevant or necessary to what was unfolding.
Perhaps I would've preferred if they'd stuck to the formula a bit more, but I appreciate them trying new things and as above they still delivered on what they did very well :)
Overall this was a delight, all the same charm and emotion you'd expect from these devs. If you've played the others definitely give this a try, just be sure to play the games in release order as while not directly connected there are absolutely some callbacks in this that will be lost on you
P.S. You don't need me to tell you but the music is superb, as always 😌
Reviewed on Jan 14, 2023