This review contains spoilers
This is a game that gives you a lot of emotion without saying anything.
There are a lot of faults that stick out as you play through this game. The sloppy controls, the boring repetition, and the trial and error progression, to name a few. The huge problem I want to point out with this game is that the writing goes absolutely no where.
The game has a lot of heavy moments. There are dramatic deaths, sorrowful backstories, and difficult to watch sequences. As you are first going through the game you feel the weight of all of these moments building on your character as he stumbles his way through this timeloop. The voice actors genuinely do a great job and that's the primary reason this isn't getting a .5★ from me. Now much later in the story, we realize all of this for nothing. Well maybe not for nothing, because all of this stress we have been living through vicariously through our player character has actualky been a metaphysical manifestation of our character stressing over an inscestuous relationship. Suddenly all the relatability and grounded-ness of the story are gone. All of the development we have felt are thrown away for the author's bizarre take on a twist.
The worst part of this game is how after this twist, the final ending decides to take away the main characters memory of this relationship. The shocking revelation leaves the stage just as quickly as it appeared. There's no time for reflection or wisdom to be imparted by the authors. It just ends in a way that questions what your purpose of being the spectator to this tale even is.
So after hours of sitting on this emotional rollercoaster, my final take away is... Nothing. The biggest question this game brought to my head is simply why am I here to begin with? There's no take away moral or lesson here at the end of the day. The author wanted his his story to be a vehicle for shock value and that's all this game can deliver.
There are a lot of faults that stick out as you play through this game. The sloppy controls, the boring repetition, and the trial and error progression, to name a few. The huge problem I want to point out with this game is that the writing goes absolutely no where.
The game has a lot of heavy moments. There are dramatic deaths, sorrowful backstories, and difficult to watch sequences. As you are first going through the game you feel the weight of all of these moments building on your character as he stumbles his way through this timeloop. The voice actors genuinely do a great job and that's the primary reason this isn't getting a .5★ from me. Now much later in the story, we realize all of this for nothing. Well maybe not for nothing, because all of this stress we have been living through vicariously through our player character has actualky been a metaphysical manifestation of our character stressing over an inscestuous relationship. Suddenly all the relatability and grounded-ness of the story are gone. All of the development we have felt are thrown away for the author's bizarre take on a twist.
The worst part of this game is how after this twist, the final ending decides to take away the main characters memory of this relationship. The shocking revelation leaves the stage just as quickly as it appeared. There's no time for reflection or wisdom to be imparted by the authors. It just ends in a way that questions what your purpose of being the spectator to this tale even is.
So after hours of sitting on this emotional rollercoaster, my final take away is... Nothing. The biggest question this game brought to my head is simply why am I here to begin with? There's no take away moral or lesson here at the end of the day. The author wanted his his story to be a vehicle for shock value and that's all this game can deliver.