I kinda liked this game more than C.H.A.I.N owing to the better management of its story and its branching paths. I also found myself enjoying the wider selection of games that this collection had from me this time around. Like, there was actual gameplay in some of them and I was just GRATEFUL for that.
There's that matter of some games being absolutely broken though. I don't mean in the fun sense like a boundary break, I'm saying at times it's like IMPOSSIBLE to progress. Which is especially disappointing with the game made in RPG Maker MZ because the graphics intrigued me the most and it just didn't work for me. Other times stuff would not trigger and I would end up sequence-breaking the game, making it impossible to progress. Thank GOD the launcher doesn't know if you actually made progress in those games.
The game's vibes are pretty cool this time around too. The atmosphere isn't as scary this time around (maybe that's intentional) but there were some engaging environments. Moments that come to mind are the walking around in the void of space while there's a baby wailing in the background, and walking up to dark fountains while structures of rusty nothingness litter the landscape (it makes sense once you see it). Even the lighter atmospheres had their advantages. I had a guilty pleasure becoming a demon lady and burning down Paris. I genuinely love the game for that.
I mentioned the story was stronger this time around in that the narrative was more cohesive. For the most part, I was able to understand everything well enough. Even during the finale they did a pretty good attempt at rationalizing all the endings and how they played out. The motivations and characters were definitely more interesting, too. It's the typical mother tries to rescue daughter story but I like how it's presented in this way. I do have a bit of criticism in that yeah, I too don't see how this connects to C.H.A.I.N at all except the protagonist being the same but it's fine. It means I really wasn't missing out on much by not finishing it.
What I cannot forgive this game for is its ending. Imagine my excitement to find out that there's a THIRD branch at the beginning, and my line of thinking that this is going to be the grand finale and we get to see Cat and Lucy finally be together, officially. But then I go and play through it and half the endings are complete piss takes, and the other half I have no idea how to progress in. You had everything going on with Lucio and Themis and how Cat's choice to erase herself from all timelines to save Lucy might not have to be the right option after all and then it ends off with the most unfunny shit I've ever seen. I'm sorry, no hate to the devs but COME ON try to read the room a bit and have some class.
And look, I get it. This is more meant to flex creative muscles and have fun making projects that the developers enjoy. For what it's worth, C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D is a very neat experiment that I hope gets revisited and revised in the future. But that really doesn't take away the sour taste left in my mouth after that ending.
There's that matter of some games being absolutely broken though. I don't mean in the fun sense like a boundary break, I'm saying at times it's like IMPOSSIBLE to progress. Which is especially disappointing with the game made in RPG Maker MZ because the graphics intrigued me the most and it just didn't work for me. Other times stuff would not trigger and I would end up sequence-breaking the game, making it impossible to progress. Thank GOD the launcher doesn't know if you actually made progress in those games.
The game's vibes are pretty cool this time around too. The atmosphere isn't as scary this time around (maybe that's intentional) but there were some engaging environments. Moments that come to mind are the walking around in the void of space while there's a baby wailing in the background, and walking up to dark fountains while structures of rusty nothingness litter the landscape (it makes sense once you see it). Even the lighter atmospheres had their advantages. I had a guilty pleasure becoming a demon lady and burning down Paris. I genuinely love the game for that.
I mentioned the story was stronger this time around in that the narrative was more cohesive. For the most part, I was able to understand everything well enough. Even during the finale they did a pretty good attempt at rationalizing all the endings and how they played out. The motivations and characters were definitely more interesting, too. It's the typical mother tries to rescue daughter story but I like how it's presented in this way. I do have a bit of criticism in that yeah, I too don't see how this connects to C.H.A.I.N at all except the protagonist being the same but it's fine. It means I really wasn't missing out on much by not finishing it.
What I cannot forgive this game for is its ending. Imagine my excitement to find out that there's a THIRD branch at the beginning, and my line of thinking that this is going to be the grand finale and we get to see Cat and Lucy finally be together, officially. But then I go and play through it and half the endings are complete piss takes, and the other half I have no idea how to progress in. You had everything going on with Lucio and Themis and how Cat's choice to erase herself from all timelines to save Lucy might not have to be the right option after all and then it ends off with the most unfunny shit I've ever seen. I'm sorry, no hate to the devs but COME ON try to read the room a bit and have some class.
And look, I get it. This is more meant to flex creative muscles and have fun making projects that the developers enjoy. For what it's worth, C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D is a very neat experiment that I hope gets revisited and revised in the future. But that really doesn't take away the sour taste left in my mouth after that ending.
2 Comments
@01156 yooooo ty! Your review was awesome too! And yeah I don't normally mind joke endings like what you would find in the Stanley Parable, but only if they're a part of a larger group of endings where none of them seem like the right ending so to speak. However, since it seemed like the game was pointing to 4 potential canon endings it just made those joke endings unbearable, if that makes sense.
01156
10 months ago