Somewhere in a wheat field, a boy hugs his mother

I guess that one of the biggest compliments that I can give OneShot right of the bat is that it has seriously made me revaluate my opinions in other games that attempt to hit the same notes and have the same impact, so yeah, funnily enough, in a way it made me see the light.

OneShot isn't scared of showing what it is, from the moment Niko wakes up in that dark and dusty room, it lets you know in what kind of voyage you have set yourself and the child you control into, and from there it only becomes more and more magical.

While I wasn't aware of the specifics, I knew that this game would break the fourth wall in different ways, but whereas others use this narrative tool as a way to inject themselves into reality, creating a small sense of unease or even mock you as a player, this world literally calls you a god, everyone knows that you are in some king of outer plane, while only a few understanding fully the gravity of situation.

Puzzles will require you to break the bounds, both to think outside the box and to see beyond the window that encapsulates this broken land; this sadly leads to some parts of it being a little bit more confusing than they should: you may be unsure to what to do next or where to look, how to properly interact to some things or even find certain rooms and objects… but in a way that also helps the overall experience. You arrive the same way as Niko does: not knowing a fuck about this place, its people and its rules; you may have more power than anybody, but that doesn’t stop you from being confused. It’s through that confusion that you and Niko connect: you see his fears, his illusion, his confusion and his wonder, and alongside him you learn of these places, of this characters, and it’s all so… lovable. I believe that it’s genuinely impossible to hate this not cat person and the curious inhabitants of the different places you both come across, it’s impossible to not feel care towards all this poor people, trying to live their lives the best that they can, as well as to care for Niko, to feel the sadness of the fact that is he whom must bear such burden.

Grief, loss, hopelessness, defeat and inevitability are words that came throughout the little voyage and ones that I go back to define the experience as a whole; it’s an extremely sad game, and it never gives you clear answer of what might come next… but it also has this… comfort, I think it’s the best word. The interactions, locations and especially the fantastic soundtrack fill me with this feeling of nostalgia for a time I never got to live, for a place I never got to see on its prime; Niko also feels this nostalgia, and even though this pilgrimage may be scary for him at times, it also makes him smile, and it makes you smile and feel wonder too.

You both push forward, defying the improbable and answering the unanswerable.

Here, at the top of the tower, after the truth has been told and machine and author and powerless to do anything, a final decision remains.

And it’s hard, man.

Fuck FromSoftware and its games, this is the true most challenging part of any game, it will even make your eyes sweat- NO I’M NOT CRIYING YOU ARE CRIYING!

OneShot’s first run Is only comparable to the best experiences I’ve had in the entire medium, and it made me feel and care in a way I really thought it couldn’t. It’s a tale of victories and defeats, of unresolved finales and sweet conclusions, and one that will end in one way, but it’s up to you which it’ll be…

…But what if it hadn’t to be like that?

You even defy the core objective of the program, and what is left is one last pilgrimage to the tower, this time it will be different. I will be scarier. But it’s a risk worth taking. There may be hope for all. Or maybe there won’t.

I really don’t want to go into much detail about the ‘’Solstice’’ ending (nor the game as a whole) ‘cause I really think it’s worth experiencing it. I understand those how of it as redundant or that it detracted from the original experience, I myself thought it was counter-intuitive to do something like that in such a game… but once again, it surprised. It still retains what makes OneShot special, and more importantly, it expands on certain themes left in the air, themes world exploring. Themes about the living and the machine. How the line between the two is not as defined as we think… and how something ‘’fake’’ can be so, so real.

One Shot isn’t perfect, and I understand how some could see more flaws in it than I did, but… It ended being so special at so many levels I couldn’t even begin to re-tell it. It knows what is, but it’s also so much more, more than anyone could have ever thought it could ever be. It’s a bittersweet tale, one you may think is better off with a bittersweet ending, and you may be right…

But a happy ending is warranted, always…

Especially if it makes us smile.

Well fuck. I'm not surprised that I liked Venba, but I am surprised I liked it this much.

It does feel a bit strange that it took this long for me to find a narrative-based cooking game; most of the cooking video games I've seen are either arcade-scoring style minigame collections (your Cooking Mamas), restaurant management titles like Cook, Serve, Delicious!, or sandboxes that felt so simple and structureless that they basically turned into meme simulators for me past the five minute mark. Conversely, Venba more closely resembles what I expect of my idealized cooking game: it emphasizes the puzzle-like qualities of cooking via mastering techniques at the right time (something that no other game I'm aware of has really capitalized upon) while also using cooking as a narrative vessel to impart past memories of learning/executing recipes and thoroughly exploring culture via the medium of the culinary arts. Granted, Venba's puzzles are easy enough to navigate but still aren't free, and that does wonders in aiding its lean towards storytelling: without spoiling too much, entire sections of recipes are often missing, and thus part of the fun is filling out the gaps as the player to "correct" the dishes. You won't get penalized unlike a restaurant sim though, and that's the fun of cooking! Sometimes, you just want to experiment a little and try out new techniques, and if you mess up, that's just kitchen learning in a nutshell.

What I wasn't expecting though, was just how deeply I resonated with the narrative. My immediate family and I are immigrants, and quite frankly, I've inquired a little here and there about what they've sacrificed to move to the US, but I clearly haven't asked enough. While I've never genuinely felt ashamed of my own culture, I've absolutely felt the pressure to "fit in" and in many cases, felt a bit of the old embarrassment rise up again from playing this game due to how disconnected I've often felt from my old home city versus having now lived in the states for a while. English isn't my first language, but it may as well have been now given my difficulties writing and sometimes speaking my old language, and losing my grasp of all these things that were once more familiar to me has always been a sore point in my life. This game is a reminder to me that even if I may have grown up in an entirely different world than my parents, they're still my family at the end of the day regardless of cultural differences and it's still my past; I might have had years slip by where I chose to remain intentionally apathetic to parts of my family's heritage, but that doesn't mean that I can't start catching up now to try and make up for lost ground.

The game is only about an hour long with just six recipes included (and a couple near the end are a bit too guided), but I'm willing to overlook its brevity because this experience is going to sit with me for a while: it almost feels like it was written for me at times. Definitely one of the best surprises to come out this year. Thank you for the meal, Venba. Think I'm gonna go call my parents now and tell them how much I've missed them.

an even better version of an already 5/5 game. an adventure game, a crpg (in the vein of planescape: torment), a detective sim, a sprawling choose-your-own-dementia jamboree, a dreary mucking-around in self-destruction, inner dreams, despair, love, hope (?!), and loads of politics. you're the sorry cop, the hobocop, the broke-dick disco king of dire debauchery. an absolute scumbag who, just maybe, wants the world to be better. you have the coolest partner, kim kitsuragi: a moral anchor of sorts—sympathetic, albeit amply capable of becoming... displeased with you. it all depends. there are many ways to blaze your trail through revachol. in the milieu of computer games, disco elysium is a rare flower reeking of human life, history, and the yearning of loneliness in a capitalist shit-world. breathe in the stink and let the heartless wind run its fingers through your hair.

CARA! QUE OBRA-PRIMA SUPREMA!!!
Todas as análises e críticas que eu vi não estavam exagerando nem um pouco sobre o quão bom esse jogo é!

O sistema totalmente único de diálogos e habilidades, todas as possibilidades e variações narrativas, a exploração livre, detalhada e recompensadora, o jeito que ele consegue sempre manter seus diálogos interessantes e dinâmicos, sabendo muito bem como interseccionar o fator cômico ao sério, toda a teia de informações que se interconectam ou se dividem em ainda mais perguntas e opções investigativas... CARA, COMO ESSE JOGO É FANTÁSTICO!

Importante destacar, claro, que esse jogo é 90% leitura, então se for jogar, vá com a mesma vontade e determinação de ler um livro.

Com isso tudo dito, não tem como eu deixa de mencionar o quanto me dói MUITO saber de todo o problema que os desenvolvedores passaram e de como isso vai atrasar ou mesmo inviabilizar uma sequência ou jogo no mesmo estilo (óbvio, dificilmente mantendo a mesma qualidade também). O que nos resta é torcer pra que toda essa treta se resolva, mas, até lá, recomendo piratear o jogo (ou pegar ele no preço mais barato possível), pra evitar mandar dinheiro pros caras que deram golpe nos Devs.

E antes de fechar, claro:
KIM, VOCÊ É O MELHOR PERSONAGEM DE TODOS! NÓS TE AMAMOS!!!

Coffee Talk is one of those games you really need to be aware of what you are getting going in. I've seen a few reviews here mention it's boring or how little gameplay it has. So to those unaware this is a short visual novel with limited played player input that's very narrative heavy.

Oh as a game it's uninteresting, that I agree with. You make drinks during conversations that are often vague you have to figure out. Not going to lie, used a guide, didn't care. If you come into this for gameplay mechanics or puzzles just step away now. Where Coffee Talk shines is the interesting characters and world. Their designs, excellent pixel art and animations. Their struggles, successes or failures of their everyday lives you learn about over a period of nights. I got pretty drawn into it and it helps this game is incredibly relaxing.

It's one of those sort of titles that makes me think it could only really be done as a video game personally. I mean sure a film version of this and the characters could be done easily enough but it wouldn't be the same. It's a game about observing the characters from the outside on the other side of the bar. Yes your character talks, yes they are a key component to both how it works and the function of a Coffee shop but the observations of the customers coming in and their lives is the focus.

It's super chill, visually nice and just generally has a pretty nice vibe to it. It made me want to try more hot drinks even though I don't like Tea or Coffee. I mean I like the idea of them. I like the smell, the aroma of them but the actual drinks? nope. Still this has made me want to try and make homemade cinnamon milk again and some other types of hot chocolate.

Does it really rain that much in Seattle?