HaloBlues
2012
Literally only ever played this as a kid for that dress-up competition minigame and I don't think anyone who was ever judging it understood the rules. Maybe I didn't either.
My fiancee and I tried to get through this after finishing DR1 in our effort to play (well, watch for her) through the entire series together, especially because she loved Toko in the first game, but after however many months it's been of me trying to force myself through this and finding any excuse not to pick it back up again every time I close it, I just... can't anymore.
The story was interesting, I really did try to stick to it for the sake of that and the twists and the narrative connection to the series (I've never met Nagito before, for example, as I've never played the rest of the main games and am relatively unspoiled, so I wanted to see what was up with him here), but it's just not worth it.
The controls are excruciatingly awful, as is the camera, the characters are exhausting, the combat is janky, most of the minigames are tedious and repetitive, and the graphics are distractingly bad. Every non-main NPC is just the same two featureless silhouettes copy-and-pasted across the map, and the handling of themes like child abuse, body/facial dysmorphia, mental illness, and sexual assault are cartoonishly offensive.
And I didn't even get as far as all the pedophilia stuff.
The story was interesting, I really did try to stick to it for the sake of that and the twists and the narrative connection to the series (I've never met Nagito before, for example, as I've never played the rest of the main games and am relatively unspoiled, so I wanted to see what was up with him here), but it's just not worth it.
The controls are excruciatingly awful, as is the camera, the characters are exhausting, the combat is janky, most of the minigames are tedious and repetitive, and the graphics are distractingly bad. Every non-main NPC is just the same two featureless silhouettes copy-and-pasted across the map, and the handling of themes like child abuse, body/facial dysmorphia, mental illness, and sexual assault are cartoonishly offensive.
And I didn't even get as far as all the pedophilia stuff.
2021
I'm still technically working on this, but my motivation to continue it has waned recently through no particular fault of its own (I'm just busy and distracted by other games), so I'll throw a review out anyway and just update it whenever I get around to completing the available story.
I'll get the criticisms out of the way first:
- This is likely entirely a me problem, and this is a very specific nitpick I have, but I cannot describe how much I resent this protagonist. As far as I can tell, the creator is a woman of colour, and the cast of characters is in general very diverse and interesting, but the main character is the most boring, generic, milqetoast-end-slice-of-white-bread guy I've ever seen. Whenever his model appears in a scene I have to actively pretend he's not there in order to stay in the mood of the moment because good god he's not attractive at all, and he's even less relatable. I'm guessing the creator just went for The Most Average Man In The World for the sake of male players being more likely to find him viable as a self-insert, but it leaves all the rest of us (and I say this as a white man myself, just not one who looks anything like this guy) in the lurch. I can understand not being able to create your own protagonist, but at that point I'd actively prefer not seeing his face and just having him appear in scenes from the neck down, from the back, having NSFW scenes be in first-person, whatever. A lot of them are in first-person, so I'm not sure why it's not consistent. It's very difficult to believe that the entire town is chasing this guy's dick.
- The game has some surprisingly "straight man"-esque writing from a female author, if you know what I mean; the type of thing that comes from books written by men trying to write an Attractive Female Character. Some quotes that stood out are "She was wearing a crop top her breasts constantly threatened to spill out of" about Kendra, and "I can see her breasts shift around underneath her dress" about a teacher. That doesn't generally happen, and if your breasts are shifting around autonomously I suggest seeking medical attention or, perhaps, an exorcist. I'd also note here the fact that there's a scene where Suzy is crying and you're comforting her and the game chooses to focus on a panty shot.
- I do wish there was more diversity in the sense of gender when it comes to the romance options. Other kinds of diversity are given respectable amounts of attention, but out of the 20+ love interests and side flings, there's only one gay option, and one trans woman. Every other option is a cis woman. I prefer men myself, so it was pretty noticeable to me.
- There's some fetishisation of bisexuality/lesbianism, with lots of mentions of "lesbian experiments". Overall, there are quite a lot of "I fuck women because you, the male protagonist, find it hot, but I don't actually like women" undertones to certain characters' dialogue.
- The dirty talk in NSFW scenes is pretty same-y, with some exceptions. A lot of the characters drop the same phrases and words, which is fine because, I mean, it's hot, but it does start to get repetitive.
- There are some typos, spelling errors, and mistakes between past and present tense, but not so much that it's distracting. There are also some continuity errors, such as having the option to tell Reba you believe in God, but later getting automatic dialogue with Ms. Welsh where the protagonist states he doesn't believe in God and that he instead believes in science. Another is that the protagonist's username in Brandi's Twitch chat is 'BurgerBuddy' at the start and then inexplicably becomes 'BurgerBoy'. There was one instance of the wrong colour and character name used for another character's dialogue, though apparently I didn't note down which one. It's worth noting, though, that the game is still in early access, so it's understandable.
- Jaime's route contains the use of "Asperger's syndrome", which is an outdated term that isn't used or diagnosed anymore. It would just be Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
- Brandi hits that strange trope of "skinny girl who eats a ton and that's sexy because she's Hot And Thin (and a fat character eating a lot wouldn't be sexy)". You're telling me this woman eats 14/15 burgers at a time and she's still model slim? And why is the dialogue telling me she has a "thick ass"? This chick is skinny.
- The male protagonist has sex with a lesbian side character. Again, not something that doesn't happen in real life, exactly, but when it's not being written by a lesbian...
Neutral/Varied:
- The voice acting is spotty in places; Jamie's in particular is patchy and very "reading from a script" rather than sounding natural, with some strange enunciations/emphasis. A lot of the VA work is trying a little too hard to sound 'porn sexy' and hits too close to unnatural. The rest are generally fine; Suzy is notably good, and Mrs. Mills is great - her voice actress fully commits to it and I respect it. Mi-Cha is a little so-so at points, but she sounds so cute that I can't be bothered by it.
Positive:
- This game has some really great diversity in all respects other than gender identity. The love interests include black women with natural hair and dreadlocks, brown women, Asian women, a disabled woman in a wheelchair, a girl with a terminal illness, and older women (both mothers and grandmothers included). Shoutout to the body types of said older women, too - though all the younger women tend to generally fall into the category of 'slim', Lisa and Connie have very realistic body types for their characters.
- I'm refreshed and relieved by the fact that, in my experience so far, Adrian being a trans woman isn't treated as a fetish at all. The fact that her name is Adrian is a little questionable (trans women absolutely can have unisex or masculine names, but when it's the only trans character written by a cis author it invites some caution), but other than that she's, as far as I can tell, written empathetically and respectfully. Maybe this changes later in the updated content, I'm not far in her route in my replay, but hopefully not.
- The characters have a super wide range of personalities and romance/relationship types. There'll probably be at least one dynamic and person that's up your alley.
- I really love that the protagonist cries during a counselling session. Especially with how I mentioned my feeling that he's a very generic 'cishet male gamer' centered design, it was refreshing and great to have him openly show emotion and 'weakness'. I think that's super important for men to be able to do.
- Brandi's Twitch chat was such a fun feature, with being able to see dozens of comments each scene. There's the single somewhat annoying element of there being an ad for the game in the form of a commenter who's always advertising it to the Twitch chat (why? We're already playing the game), which could have just been a fun nod if not for the fact that in my game so far I've already counted it happening 12 separate times. I'd take that down a notch. Other than that, though, it's a really fun addition, and I liked seeing the returning commenters/characters each stream, especially when you have the chance to meet some of them in person.
- The interface. I love the interface. One of the biggest issues I have playing visual novels is I'm incredibly picky with interfaces, the dialogue font/speed, menus, etc., and Come Home's is so clean and useful and easy to navigate. It's changed a lot since the first time I played through the game, definitely for the better.
- Bai coming out to his parents made me super emotional. It was such a lovely scene to include after I've had to sit through so many stories in all forms of media with rough coming-outs. I really, really appreciated the handling of that.
- The protagonist's monologue to Terry after he hits Dana is great (at least, it was in my playthrough; the options I chose to get the scene were "Get Dana and leave" -> "She doesn't want you" -> "Grab him and yell at him"). It wasn't giving 'saviour complex' vibes like some 'rescuing a woman from an abusive relationship' stories do, but it was cathartic and important.
- Polyamory representation! Sure, there's the low-key kind where the love interests are generally fine with you having other partners at least for now, but there are also straight-up polyamorous relationships included. Eden and her husband have an open relationship, and there's also a polyamorous triad between Suzy, Tammy, and the protagonist if you pursue either of the girls, with it made clear that all three of you have feelings for one another.
- Most importantly, and I really do want to emphasise this: the amount of content given out for free by RJ Rhodes with Come Home is insane. I forked out for the purchasable Premium Edition because, damn, she deserves it, and I thought the bonus outfits were a cute enough addition to warrant it. But even with the free version of the game, you are getting hours and hours of gameplay, plot, romance, character development, enjoyment, options, all for absolutely nothing. The amount of work that's gone into this game is a little mind-blowing.
Favourite Male Character: Bai
Favourite Female Character: Mi-Cha
First Character I Liked: Bai
Favourite Character Design: Whitney
Favourite Moment: So far, Bai's coming out scene
Least Favourite Character: You already know it's the protagonist
I'll get the criticisms out of the way first:
- This is likely entirely a me problem, and this is a very specific nitpick I have, but I cannot describe how much I resent this protagonist. As far as I can tell, the creator is a woman of colour, and the cast of characters is in general very diverse and interesting, but the main character is the most boring, generic, milqetoast-end-slice-of-white-bread guy I've ever seen. Whenever his model appears in a scene I have to actively pretend he's not there in order to stay in the mood of the moment because good god he's not attractive at all, and he's even less relatable. I'm guessing the creator just went for The Most Average Man In The World for the sake of male players being more likely to find him viable as a self-insert, but it leaves all the rest of us (and I say this as a white man myself, just not one who looks anything like this guy) in the lurch. I can understand not being able to create your own protagonist, but at that point I'd actively prefer not seeing his face and just having him appear in scenes from the neck down, from the back, having NSFW scenes be in first-person, whatever. A lot of them are in first-person, so I'm not sure why it's not consistent. It's very difficult to believe that the entire town is chasing this guy's dick.
- The game has some surprisingly "straight man"-esque writing from a female author, if you know what I mean; the type of thing that comes from books written by men trying to write an Attractive Female Character. Some quotes that stood out are "She was wearing a crop top her breasts constantly threatened to spill out of" about Kendra, and "I can see her breasts shift around underneath her dress" about a teacher. That doesn't generally happen, and if your breasts are shifting around autonomously I suggest seeking medical attention or, perhaps, an exorcist. I'd also note here the fact that there's a scene where Suzy is crying and you're comforting her and the game chooses to focus on a panty shot.
- I do wish there was more diversity in the sense of gender when it comes to the romance options. Other kinds of diversity are given respectable amounts of attention, but out of the 20+ love interests and side flings, there's only one gay option, and one trans woman. Every other option is a cis woman. I prefer men myself, so it was pretty noticeable to me.
- There's some fetishisation of bisexuality/lesbianism, with lots of mentions of "lesbian experiments". Overall, there are quite a lot of "I fuck women because you, the male protagonist, find it hot, but I don't actually like women" undertones to certain characters' dialogue.
- The dirty talk in NSFW scenes is pretty same-y, with some exceptions. A lot of the characters drop the same phrases and words, which is fine because, I mean, it's hot, but it does start to get repetitive.
- There are some typos, spelling errors, and mistakes between past and present tense, but not so much that it's distracting. There are also some continuity errors, such as having the option to tell Reba you believe in God, but later getting automatic dialogue with Ms. Welsh where the protagonist states he doesn't believe in God and that he instead believes in science. Another is that the protagonist's username in Brandi's Twitch chat is 'BurgerBuddy' at the start and then inexplicably becomes 'BurgerBoy'. There was one instance of the wrong colour and character name used for another character's dialogue, though apparently I didn't note down which one. It's worth noting, though, that the game is still in early access, so it's understandable.
- Jaime's route contains the use of "Asperger's syndrome", which is an outdated term that isn't used or diagnosed anymore. It would just be Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
- Brandi hits that strange trope of "skinny girl who eats a ton and that's sexy because she's Hot And Thin (and a fat character eating a lot wouldn't be sexy)". You're telling me this woman eats 14/15 burgers at a time and she's still model slim? And why is the dialogue telling me she has a "thick ass"? This chick is skinny.
- The male protagonist has sex with a lesbian side character. Again, not something that doesn't happen in real life, exactly, but when it's not being written by a lesbian...
Neutral/Varied:
- The voice acting is spotty in places; Jamie's in particular is patchy and very "reading from a script" rather than sounding natural, with some strange enunciations/emphasis. A lot of the VA work is trying a little too hard to sound 'porn sexy' and hits too close to unnatural. The rest are generally fine; Suzy is notably good, and Mrs. Mills is great - her voice actress fully commits to it and I respect it. Mi-Cha is a little so-so at points, but she sounds so cute that I can't be bothered by it.
Positive:
- This game has some really great diversity in all respects other than gender identity. The love interests include black women with natural hair and dreadlocks, brown women, Asian women, a disabled woman in a wheelchair, a girl with a terminal illness, and older women (both mothers and grandmothers included). Shoutout to the body types of said older women, too - though all the younger women tend to generally fall into the category of 'slim', Lisa and Connie have very realistic body types for their characters.
- I'm refreshed and relieved by the fact that, in my experience so far, Adrian being a trans woman isn't treated as a fetish at all. The fact that her name is Adrian is a little questionable (trans women absolutely can have unisex or masculine names, but when it's the only trans character written by a cis author it invites some caution), but other than that she's, as far as I can tell, written empathetically and respectfully. Maybe this changes later in the updated content, I'm not far in her route in my replay, but hopefully not.
- The characters have a super wide range of personalities and romance/relationship types. There'll probably be at least one dynamic and person that's up your alley.
- I really love that the protagonist cries during a counselling session. Especially with how I mentioned my feeling that he's a very generic 'cishet male gamer' centered design, it was refreshing and great to have him openly show emotion and 'weakness'. I think that's super important for men to be able to do.
- Brandi's Twitch chat was such a fun feature, with being able to see dozens of comments each scene. There's the single somewhat annoying element of there being an ad for the game in the form of a commenter who's always advertising it to the Twitch chat (why? We're already playing the game), which could have just been a fun nod if not for the fact that in my game so far I've already counted it happening 12 separate times. I'd take that down a notch. Other than that, though, it's a really fun addition, and I liked seeing the returning commenters/characters each stream, especially when you have the chance to meet some of them in person.
- The interface. I love the interface. One of the biggest issues I have playing visual novels is I'm incredibly picky with interfaces, the dialogue font/speed, menus, etc., and Come Home's is so clean and useful and easy to navigate. It's changed a lot since the first time I played through the game, definitely for the better.
- Bai coming out to his parents made me super emotional. It was such a lovely scene to include after I've had to sit through so many stories in all forms of media with rough coming-outs. I really, really appreciated the handling of that.
- The protagonist's monologue to Terry after he hits Dana is great (at least, it was in my playthrough; the options I chose to get the scene were "Get Dana and leave" -> "She doesn't want you" -> "Grab him and yell at him"). It wasn't giving 'saviour complex' vibes like some 'rescuing a woman from an abusive relationship' stories do, but it was cathartic and important.
- Polyamory representation! Sure, there's the low-key kind where the love interests are generally fine with you having other partners at least for now, but there are also straight-up polyamorous relationships included. Eden and her husband have an open relationship, and there's also a polyamorous triad between Suzy, Tammy, and the protagonist if you pursue either of the girls, with it made clear that all three of you have feelings for one another.
- Most importantly, and I really do want to emphasise this: the amount of content given out for free by RJ Rhodes with Come Home is insane. I forked out for the purchasable Premium Edition because, damn, she deserves it, and I thought the bonus outfits were a cute enough addition to warrant it. But even with the free version of the game, you are getting hours and hours of gameplay, plot, romance, character development, enjoyment, options, all for absolutely nothing. The amount of work that's gone into this game is a little mind-blowing.
Favourite Male Character: Bai
Favourite Female Character: Mi-Cha
First Character I Liked: Bai
Favourite Character Design: Whitney
Favourite Moment: So far, Bai's coming out scene
Least Favourite Character: You already know it's the protagonist
2017
DNF. Not gonna rate this one or do an in-depth review because I barely got into it. Started one guy's route (I forget his name, the aide of your brother) but it's just not grabbing me and I'm not a fan of the UI or the dialogue font/speed/etc. It's becoming a chore to try to finish, so I'm just ending it here for the foreseeable.
Marking as complete since I've finished what's currently out, but I'll update as more episodes release.
I'd somehow never heard of this game despite it apparently blowing up for being controversial, so I guess I'm not quite as online as I thought I was. A few days ago one of my friends sent me a picture of the male protagonist and told me it looked like me, a bunch of other friends in the group chimed in agreeing, and then one person told me Not!!! to relate to him because the guy was a cannibalistic freak. So naturally I looked up what the game was about and immediately played it.
First of all, there's incest in this game. If you've heard of it, you probably know that already, but if not, there's your warning. I believe it was initially a case of "it's optional, you only get it if you end up on a certain route", which is true to a degree, but the implications and comments are also there regardless of route, so if you're uncomfortable about it at all you're better off not playing it. The only 'optional' part is whether or not it actually goes in the direction of, uh... consummation.
Anyway, onto the actual content: I really dig the graphics. TCOAAL has an almost RPG Maker-esque pixel style, though the sprites are a little more detailed than RPGM's usually are, and the actual character portraits have a really nice, consistent look to them, with the thick white outlines and monochrome colours.
It contains puzzles, and they were pretty much the perfect level of difficulty for me - I enjoy puzzles that make me think, that stump me for a couple of minutes, but that aren't frustratingly hard to the point where I end up stuck on the same section for ages or have to look up a walkthrough. If you like your puzzles to be genuinely tricky, these will probably be too simple for you, but they catered to me pretty perfectly. There is one slightly bothersome dream section where you as Andrew have to get across a black void of a room by finding the right maze-like direction through the dark and making tiles appear, which wasn't difficult as much as it was just annoying to navigate, but it doesn't take long to get past.
If you like your characters to be redeemable and moral, this is definitely not the game for you. Both Ashley and Andrew, the protagonists, are varying degrees of Bad People, with Ashley being manipulative and sadistic, Andrew being apathetic and violent, and both of them being, well, cannibals and murderers. Their parents aren't much better, nor are the side characters who range from 'rude' to 'cartoonishly evil' such as the Toxisoda company, but I wasn't all that bothered by it seeing as I love a good villain protagonist.
The relationship between Andrew and Ashley is... pretty much what I expected going into it from what I'd read. Codependent, mutually toxic, obsessive, with incestuous undertones that become less undertones and more "yeah, this is where the story's headed" by the end of Episode 2 thanks to a future vision of them sleeping together. Not great, obviously, but it is an interesting dynamic to watch unfold in the space of horror fiction where it's unapologetically treated by both the narrative and those around them as fucked up and unhealthy. I gather most of the people crying "incest apologism!" about this game haven't actually played it, because it's not treated as the 'right' thing to do at all, with the narration actively warning you against the choices that take you there, and with it explicitly explained that their abusive and neglectful childhood probably resulted in their feelings in adulthood, as they had no one except each other, and that it caused that sibling protectiveness to become warped and possessive.
Some of the dialogue can be a little silly - Ashley, especially, is extremely openly crude, and she'll make sexual jokes and comments to the point of it being out of place sometimes in a way that doesn't seem intentional (that "Move your fat ass" "I think you mean my awesome fat tits" exchange comes to mind as being notably corny), but it's not as bad as I'd anticipated from other reviews. They're mentally fucked up young adults with sexual complexes and a complete lack of boundaries who talk the way you'd expect that kind of person to talk, really.
Anyway, I played it through with my fiancee and we both genuinely enjoy it so far. I'll be keeping up with updates/devlogs and hope to see the third episode out soon.
I'd somehow never heard of this game despite it apparently blowing up for being controversial, so I guess I'm not quite as online as I thought I was. A few days ago one of my friends sent me a picture of the male protagonist and told me it looked like me, a bunch of other friends in the group chimed in agreeing, and then one person told me Not!!! to relate to him because the guy was a cannibalistic freak. So naturally I looked up what the game was about and immediately played it.
First of all, there's incest in this game. If you've heard of it, you probably know that already, but if not, there's your warning. I believe it was initially a case of "it's optional, you only get it if you end up on a certain route", which is true to a degree, but the implications and comments are also there regardless of route, so if you're uncomfortable about it at all you're better off not playing it. The only 'optional' part is whether or not it actually goes in the direction of, uh... consummation.
Anyway, onto the actual content: I really dig the graphics. TCOAAL has an almost RPG Maker-esque pixel style, though the sprites are a little more detailed than RPGM's usually are, and the actual character portraits have a really nice, consistent look to them, with the thick white outlines and monochrome colours.
It contains puzzles, and they were pretty much the perfect level of difficulty for me - I enjoy puzzles that make me think, that stump me for a couple of minutes, but that aren't frustratingly hard to the point where I end up stuck on the same section for ages or have to look up a walkthrough. If you like your puzzles to be genuinely tricky, these will probably be too simple for you, but they catered to me pretty perfectly. There is one slightly bothersome dream section where you as Andrew have to get across a black void of a room by finding the right maze-like direction through the dark and making tiles appear, which wasn't difficult as much as it was just annoying to navigate, but it doesn't take long to get past.
If you like your characters to be redeemable and moral, this is definitely not the game for you. Both Ashley and Andrew, the protagonists, are varying degrees of Bad People, with Ashley being manipulative and sadistic, Andrew being apathetic and violent, and both of them being, well, cannibals and murderers. Their parents aren't much better, nor are the side characters who range from 'rude' to 'cartoonishly evil' such as the Toxisoda company, but I wasn't all that bothered by it seeing as I love a good villain protagonist.
The relationship between Andrew and Ashley is... pretty much what I expected going into it from what I'd read. Codependent, mutually toxic, obsessive, with incestuous undertones that become less undertones and more "yeah, this is where the story's headed" by the end of Episode 2 thanks to a future vision of them sleeping together. Not great, obviously, but it is an interesting dynamic to watch unfold in the space of horror fiction where it's unapologetically treated by both the narrative and those around them as fucked up and unhealthy. I gather most of the people crying "incest apologism!" about this game haven't actually played it, because it's not treated as the 'right' thing to do at all, with the narration actively warning you against the choices that take you there, and with it explicitly explained that their abusive and neglectful childhood probably resulted in their feelings in adulthood, as they had no one except each other, and that it caused that sibling protectiveness to become warped and possessive.
Some of the dialogue can be a little silly - Ashley, especially, is extremely openly crude, and she'll make sexual jokes and comments to the point of it being out of place sometimes in a way that doesn't seem intentional (that "Move your fat ass" "I think you mean my awesome fat tits" exchange comes to mind as being notably corny), but it's not as bad as I'd anticipated from other reviews. They're mentally fucked up young adults with sexual complexes and a complete lack of boundaries who talk the way you'd expect that kind of person to talk, really.
Anyway, I played it through with my fiancee and we both genuinely enjoy it so far. I'll be keeping up with updates/devlogs and hope to see the third episode out soon.
2024
I was going to hold off on reviewing this until I'd finished the available content, but with my gaming laptop in repair I don't see myself getting to that anytime soon, so I'll just throw this out now with the caveat that I haven't played for longer than a handful of hours so far.
First impressions are: it's better than I expected, particularly considering I'm not really into survival/crafting-type games at all (with a few exceptions - Minecraft and Raft, though they feel as though they barely count, and Subnautica and The Forest kept my interest with their stories). It's not something I see myself devotedly playing or becoming a big fan of, but it's fun to play with a good group of friends, the graphics are clean, it has some good potential, and it kept me engaged for as long as I was on it.
The gameplay is still pretty rough, but that's probably a given with an Early Access title like this. I experienced a lot of bugs and glitches and just general awkward movement.
Re: the elephant in the room, I think to say there's no copying here would be to be in complete denial, especially considering how shameless a BOTW copy their last game was. A fair few designs in here are blatant rip-offs, some going as far as to have the Pokemon assets one-to-one copied but just flipped around or combined with others', so I'll be curious to see how that lawsuit pans out. I don't expect the game will be entirely taken down, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they have to rework some designs and elements.
That said, there are also some nice unique (as far as I know) designs here. I'm cautious to give Palworld too much credit because I've seen claims the artist has stolen from Fakemon/fanart as well, so those 'unique' designs could be down to someone else, but I don't know enough about that to say for sure.
Gameplay-wise, it's not really much like Pokemon at all - I see a lot of comparisons to ARK, but I've never played that, so it mostly just reminded me of Rust. I leave the base-building up to my friends and pretty much just spend my time collecting Pals and exploring, and that works for me.
I'll keep up with it and I'm interested to see where the development goes, though I can also completely understand why this game is getting the criticism it is. I've also heard their other game had some incredibly bad practices and financial ethics, so I'm retaining some caution.
I hope updates add more of a storyline, and ideally I'd like to see more maps. It's the same world regardless of server, which I get, but it means once you've explored in one you don't have much left to see. Having more of a plot with relevant NPCs/locations etc. scattered around it might make it feel more interesting.
First impressions are: it's better than I expected, particularly considering I'm not really into survival/crafting-type games at all (with a few exceptions - Minecraft and Raft, though they feel as though they barely count, and Subnautica and The Forest kept my interest with their stories). It's not something I see myself devotedly playing or becoming a big fan of, but it's fun to play with a good group of friends, the graphics are clean, it has some good potential, and it kept me engaged for as long as I was on it.
The gameplay is still pretty rough, but that's probably a given with an Early Access title like this. I experienced a lot of bugs and glitches and just general awkward movement.
Re: the elephant in the room, I think to say there's no copying here would be to be in complete denial, especially considering how shameless a BOTW copy their last game was. A fair few designs in here are blatant rip-offs, some going as far as to have the Pokemon assets one-to-one copied but just flipped around or combined with others', so I'll be curious to see how that lawsuit pans out. I don't expect the game will be entirely taken down, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they have to rework some designs and elements.
That said, there are also some nice unique (as far as I know) designs here. I'm cautious to give Palworld too much credit because I've seen claims the artist has stolen from Fakemon/fanart as well, so those 'unique' designs could be down to someone else, but I don't know enough about that to say for sure.
Gameplay-wise, it's not really much like Pokemon at all - I see a lot of comparisons to ARK, but I've never played that, so it mostly just reminded me of Rust. I leave the base-building up to my friends and pretty much just spend my time collecting Pals and exploring, and that works for me.
I'll keep up with it and I'm interested to see where the development goes, though I can also completely understand why this game is getting the criticism it is. I've also heard their other game had some incredibly bad practices and financial ethics, so I'm retaining some caution.
I hope updates add more of a storyline, and ideally I'd like to see more maps. It's the same world regardless of server, which I get, but it means once you've explored in one you don't have much left to see. Having more of a plot with relevant NPCs/locations etc. scattered around it might make it feel more interesting.
A genuine and significant step up from Sun and Moon. Characters are given more space and time to shine and develop, the story has found its footing, and relationships begin to unfold naturally. Some interesting plot beats begin in this book, and I look forward to where the third installment takes us (the demo is already extremely promising).
2019
I've played CDLC more times than I can count since it released, and I still love it. My one criticism is that the 'twist' shifts the genre a little too abruptly and can feel out of place - it takes the game from a slice-of-life aristocratic school simulator to a kidnapping mystery with some cartoonishly villainous antagonists - but it's still an excellent game with likable characters and an equally likable setting.
2023
I really enjoyed this one. Significantly longer than Noblesse Oblige, and while Creme de la Creme remains my favorite from this author's works, this is up there beside it in terms of quality and characters. Engaging story, interesting personalities to romance or befriend, and a mystery that still struggles with pacing but is a lot better blended in terms of genre shift than Creme's. It felt pretty lengthy too, and included an extensive epilogue that lets you catch up on your character and their relationships down the line.
2022
Perfectly adequate, though I personally found it a little short and unsatisfying compared to other games by this author. I've played Creme De La Creme many times before, and I'm currently playing Royal Affairs for the first time, and both are considerably more substantial and easier to invest emotionally in. The romantic interests are fine, but not particularly interesting in comparison to the characters in the other two games - I did, however, appreciate the possibility of a polyamorous relationship with Pascha and Tomi, and I found that very sweet. Rys was less intriguing to me, and I found the mystery surrounding them to leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth because of how untrustworthy they were portrayed to be at first, which made it hard to warm up to them.
Ultimately a fine addition to the larger world that these stories are set in, but nothing I would feel driven to recommend if you don't like the other two.
Ultimately a fine addition to the larger world that these stories are set in, but nothing I would feel driven to recommend if you don't like the other two.
Man, past me would kick my ass for this, but... this was pretty damn good.
They seem to have listened to a lot of feedback, and they really ramped up both the horror and the story here. I'm a sucker for some horror game lore, and this was all kinds of up my alley. The puzzles were a little trickier and more engaging, the areas were varied and interesting, new and returning characters were both frightening (Catnap, the Prototype, Miss Delight) and loveable (Dogday, Kissy), and the atmosphere is getting genuinely great.
Ending was pretty predictable (the Kissy stuff, not the Catnap/Prototype stuff which was interesting), but I'm genuinely intrigued to see where this goes, particularly when it comes to the Prototype, Ollie, the protagonist and their previous role in the experiments, and who ends up as genuinely on our side.
They seem to have listened to a lot of feedback, and they really ramped up both the horror and the story here. I'm a sucker for some horror game lore, and this was all kinds of up my alley. The puzzles were a little trickier and more engaging, the areas were varied and interesting, new and returning characters were both frightening (Catnap, the Prototype, Miss Delight) and loveable (Dogday, Kissy), and the atmosphere is getting genuinely great.
Ending was pretty predictable (the Kissy stuff, not the Catnap/Prototype stuff which was interesting), but I'm genuinely intrigued to see where this goes, particularly when it comes to the Prototype, Ollie, the protagonist and their previous role in the experiments, and who ends up as genuinely on our side.
2017
Definitely not a shining example of what Choice of Games fiction can be. I finished this in what must have been less than half an hour, which is incredibly underwhelming and ridiculous, and I see a lot of feedback on the forums from people also calling this one rushed, incomplete, short, etc. I'm inclined to agree with all of it. Characters are shallow, the 'dramatic climax' is a page long, the ending is abrupt, the relationships are unsatisfying, and all of its anti-racism allegory attempts are clumsy and amateurish.
A pretty decent title from Choice of Games, though nowhere near a favourite. It's not as lengthy or as character-driven as I personally like in these games, but it does feature an engaging and at times pretty tense storyline with some mildly variant outcomes. Characters are fun and individual, though they're not really given enough time to boast much depth or development. One possible 'redemption arc' is arguably quite abrupt and unearned, but that could just be me.
I have no idea why I didn't review this along with the other two books in this trilogy, but to throw out a brief bunch of thoughts - love the Jury romance, appreciated finally getting to solidy one with Jenny and Prodigal, Black Magic's character was redeemed for the most part, and Lucky was inoffensively cute as always. Decent conclusion to the first 'arc' of this series before Open/Redemption Season.
2019
I've discovered I just don't care about clicker games.