2017
The game "Thomas Was Alone" wishes it was.
2004
I will never forgive Wayforward for this, no matter how many Shantaes they make.
2017
The later-game environments are kinda pretty. That's about the only good thing I have to say.
2019
The environments and town design are absolutely gorgeous, but the actual narrative falls flat for me. It's all the tropes of narrative exploration games I'm bored of on top of a mystery that isn't compelling or satisfying enough to work on its own anyway. Which is extra disappointing because I know this studio is capable of so much better.
Very cute and decently written. It's a somewhat goofy story about being stuck in a place where no one can understand your language, although it didn't go as deep into the Esperanto gimmick as I hoped.
There's a certain plot development halfway in that raises a whooole lot of questions the game has no intention of answering, something it repeats in one of the endings. For as fun as the story is, when I think back on it I mostly get hung up on the "Wait, but doesn't that imply...?" moments.
There's a certain plot development halfway in that raises a whooole lot of questions the game has no intention of answering, something it repeats in one of the endings. For as fun as the story is, when I think back on it I mostly get hung up on the "Wait, but doesn't that imply...?" moments.
2017
I love Rumu.
2012
I still don't know how to play this but I think I've banged my skull against it for enough hours to log it.
In contrast to the first one, this game's depiction of [the issue at hand] is so clinical that I wonder if the writers actually talked to anyone with experience or if they went off of academic research alone. The writing, especially post-reveal, reads more like a PSA than human communication, and frankly some of the tricks they use to make the player read the story in order are getting old.
The worst I can say is that it feels like an obligatory "Let's do that again, but with a different revelation at the end" sequel. Which works for some kinds of games, but not this one.
The worst I can say is that it feels like an obligatory "Let's do that again, but with a different revelation at the end" sequel. Which works for some kinds of games, but not this one.
2018
Fe is not cute. I would not want a Fe as a pet. The songs Fe sings are not pleasant to listen to. I weirdly kind of like that about the game. These feel like "real" animals more than most nature-themed fantasy games.
Dear Esther with the developer commentary on is a more enjoyable experience than Dear Esther with the plot narration.
Is that because the commentary nodes give you more of an objective and incentive to explore than environmental details? Because the developer commentary is more engaging audio than the flowery narrative? Because the description of the game the developers think they made is better than the game they actually did?
... All of the above?
Is that because the commentary nodes give you more of an objective and incentive to explore than environmental details? Because the developer commentary is more engaging audio than the flowery narrative? Because the description of the game the developers think they made is better than the game they actually did?
... All of the above?
2007
On its own, it might be a better story than the first. But it insists on connecting itself to the first game in a way that transforms the story into one about the mythology of the 7th Floor. And that location is far less interesting than the characters who inhabit it.
It's also becomes about how God is cruel, which is a plot thread I hope the sequels run with.
It's also becomes about how God is cruel, which is a plot thread I hope the sequels run with.
2012
Next time I teach a writing class I'm going to use this as an example of why it's important to hire an editor.
It's clearly stitched together from a large team working independently of each other. Which isn't necessarily bad. Unfortunately the writing is weak, especially in the common route, and the protagonist is hard to sympathize with. He views women as puzzles to be solved and takes an overly logical approach to every relationship. Hisao follows Neil Degrasse Tyson on Twitter, I bet. That said there are some neat moments in the relationship stuff and a lot of other little things I wish more visual novels would pick up on.
I will cut myself off here before I launch into an essay about its origins on 4chan with regard to both the roommate character and the questionably Japanese setting. If someone else wants to write that essay, I will gladly read it.
It's clearly stitched together from a large team working independently of each other. Which isn't necessarily bad. Unfortunately the writing is weak, especially in the common route, and the protagonist is hard to sympathize with. He views women as puzzles to be solved and takes an overly logical approach to every relationship. Hisao follows Neil Degrasse Tyson on Twitter, I bet. That said there are some neat moments in the relationship stuff and a lot of other little things I wish more visual novels would pick up on.
I will cut myself off here before I launch into an essay about its origins on 4chan with regard to both the roommate character and the questionably Japanese setting. If someone else wants to write that essay, I will gladly read it.
I hate how much of a sucker I am for these games.
2019
BABA IS GOOD
IS
YOU
AND
CUTE
IS
YOU
AND
CUTE
I funded this on Kickstarter and was still unaware that it released as a Part 1. I see now the very end of the Steam description squeezes that detail in but I imagine a lot of people will miss that.
Narratively there are some really interesting ideas happening here! I don't mind the straightforward gameplay... except for the fact that much of the second half is dominated by a somewhat tedious setpiece. Regardless, the story is interesting and wonderfully executed enough that I am very much looking forward to Part 2.
Narratively there are some really interesting ideas happening here! I don't mind the straightforward gameplay... except for the fact that much of the second half is dominated by a somewhat tedious setpiece. Regardless, the story is interesting and wonderfully executed enough that I am very much looking forward to Part 2.