Leopution
Bio
Leo ~he/him/his~
Lover of old books and instant coffee. Academic. IT and Educational Technology Specialist. Independent game developer.
Leo ~he/him/his~
Lover of old books and instant coffee. Academic. IT and Educational Technology Specialist. Independent game developer.
Badges
Well Written
Gained 10+ likes on a single review
Gone Gold
Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page
On Schedule
Journaled games once a day for a week straight
3 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 3 years
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
Gamer
Played 250+ games
N00b
Played 100+ games
Favorite Games
355
Total Games Played
001
Played in 2024
678
Games Backloggd
Recently Played See More
Recently Reviewed See More
Masterful storytelling - the only thing keeping this from 5 stars was the fact that the mechanics themselves seemed to get in the way of experiencing the narrative.
Having played the other games in the franchise, I was not expecting this. I liked the unique setting but the writing and character development paled in comparison to 1 and 2. To add on to that, it's just too damn long. I am personally offended that I had to drive my ass across the entire map between the same boilerplate missions.
The narrative framing of this game is spectacular. The protagonist is caught somewhere between guilt and selfishness, dragging the player with them through their mess. This game is important in its portrayal of the nuances of south/southeast asian queer identities and cultural expectations. The art, writing and character arcs are delightful. What keeps this game from truly being brilliant is... Everything else. You can't expect quick time events and a shallow turn-based combat system to hold their weight against everything else this game brings to the table.