I actually love this games visual identity. It's just so pretty, with a really great pastel color palette. It's also what hooked me in at first - the entire presentation of We Are OFK is really great, the music and soundtrack especially! The story (and CHARME) of the first three chapters managed to really hook me in. Even if it's essentially an animated series with some choices (mostly done in chat-form) sprinkled inbetween. I actually do think that this is also a strength of the game, it knows what it wants to be and does not add any gameplay flugg where it wouldn't have been necessary in the first place - the way the story is told doesn't really allow for that.
It's kinda sad for me, then, that the final episode really didn't pull the entire experience together as I would've hoped. The first three episodes work really well together, with the fourth being kinda disconnected from them, but still managing to hold its own. The fifth and final beat of the story was a really disjointed experience in my opinion (the German word "zerfasert" sums up my feelings perfectly). I really think splitting the fifth episode up into two would've been the wiser decision, although definitely more costly. And I think that was a really big factor here: the budget. We are OFK cuts a lot of corners, and although it does it really well and sometimes quite charmingly, you can definitely feel it throughout the experience.
Especially noteworthy, though, is the diverse cast, this games' biggest strength. They're loveable and lovingly portrayed, queer as fuck, come from very different backgrounds and the game talks about all that. I really, really like that.
Kinda ironic, that I don't really know how to pull this review together, in the end - I don't really want to make a grand statement. Maybe... just play this, if you're interested. It is kinda binge-worthy, like a good Netflix series you remember once every three months, go "yea, that was quite nice" and then move on with your life. And the amount of online hate this game has been getting is honestly so confusing to me. It's a cute little thing! Who would feel the want to hate a cute little thing?
...
...
for a glorious moment I forgot gamers exist
It's kinda sad for me, then, that the final episode really didn't pull the entire experience together as I would've hoped. The first three episodes work really well together, with the fourth being kinda disconnected from them, but still managing to hold its own. The fifth and final beat of the story was a really disjointed experience in my opinion (the German word "zerfasert" sums up my feelings perfectly). I really think splitting the fifth episode up into two would've been the wiser decision, although definitely more costly. And I think that was a really big factor here: the budget. We are OFK cuts a lot of corners, and although it does it really well and sometimes quite charmingly, you can definitely feel it throughout the experience.
Especially noteworthy, though, is the diverse cast, this games' biggest strength. They're loveable and lovingly portrayed, queer as fuck, come from very different backgrounds and the game talks about all that. I really, really like that.
Kinda ironic, that I don't really know how to pull this review together, in the end - I don't really want to make a grand statement. Maybe... just play this, if you're interested. It is kinda binge-worthy, like a good Netflix series you remember once every three months, go "yea, that was quite nice" and then move on with your life. And the amount of online hate this game has been getting is honestly so confusing to me. It's a cute little thing! Who would feel the want to hate a cute little thing?
...
...
for a glorious moment I forgot gamers exist