This review contains spoilers
I admit, when I saw the mock Windows XP boot-up menu, I laughed out loud. It's amazing just how much of a nostalgic entryway sound can be. And that's the type of feeling that Emily is Away coasts on- nostalgia. It hearkens back to that time in the late-90s/early 2000s when AOL and AIM were providing revolutionary IM services to people, allowing long distance friends and family to communicate with one another.
Unfortunately, this framework also works against the game as a lot of people like myself didn't really grow up using AIM. While my childhood was the aforementioned era, I was someone who didn't start chatting extensively online until Gmail and Google Chat came around. So it's worth keeping that aspect in mind as a lot of the visual throwbacks present in the interface of Emily is Away will fall flat on you if you did not grow up experiencing AIM.
The premise itself is interesting as it depicts two close friends who slowly drift apart over the years. This is a topic that has been explored in other media like Ghost World, but its everlasting relevance has allowed it to permeate over continuous generations. Unfortunately, Emily is Away makes two big mistakes in its take on the tale- 1) adding a romantic aspect, and 2) making the timeskips too large.
Your character, no matter the (limited) choices you make in the texting, ends up having feelings for Emily that are acted upon in some way or another. And I feel the writer shouldn't have done this because it not only limits the appeal of the game (only straight males will go for it), but it also prevents us from completely empathizing with the characters. I've always said that the most important aspect of a romantic story is the beginning because that is where we begin our journey on this paramour path. Emily is Away does away with that, throwing all the important details into a gap that we only learn about in retrospect. A straight-up friendship would've been a lot better because you don't have to invest as much time into explaining why two people became pals.
Because I never bought into the romance, the games use of timeskips hurt the narrative even more. It jumps yearly, which makes no sense because, even if people are busy, we still communicate at least once a month. Reducing that skip would've made the inevitable drift between you and Emily more profound IMO, as it makes more sense for close people to fall apart after not talking for close to a year compared to a month.
The ability to type was a mixed bag. Yes, it gave the chat a little more of a realistic factor, but for those of us who are capable of touch typing, I think there should've been an option to allow us to type out the responses, or just click the response line and have the protagonist automatically type it. Random keying was mixed for me. I also found it strange that you would have to click to the left of a button you wanted to click on. I can't tell if this was a bug or an attempt by the developer to replicate an old form of computer interface, but I don't remember this being the case on WIndows XP, and it's inconsistently implemented in the game anyway.
I liked the avatar logos being throwbacks to whatever pop culture instance was popular at the time, and I liked that Emily came off as a real person despite obviously being a series of pre-programmed responses.
However, the ending was definitely meant to be more powerful than I ended up thinking it was. For some, this game will definitely appeal to you at the very heart, but I just couldn't relate myself. I know it seems juvenile to complain about a free game, but an artist put out their work with the intent of people reviewing it, and this is my own critique.
Overall though, I definitely recommend playing and experiencing it for yourself because, at the end of the day, it is free and ultimately interesting enough.
Unfortunately, this framework also works against the game as a lot of people like myself didn't really grow up using AIM. While my childhood was the aforementioned era, I was someone who didn't start chatting extensively online until Gmail and Google Chat came around. So it's worth keeping that aspect in mind as a lot of the visual throwbacks present in the interface of Emily is Away will fall flat on you if you did not grow up experiencing AIM.
The premise itself is interesting as it depicts two close friends who slowly drift apart over the years. This is a topic that has been explored in other media like Ghost World, but its everlasting relevance has allowed it to permeate over continuous generations. Unfortunately, Emily is Away makes two big mistakes in its take on the tale- 1) adding a romantic aspect, and 2) making the timeskips too large.
Your character, no matter the (limited) choices you make in the texting, ends up having feelings for Emily that are acted upon in some way or another. And I feel the writer shouldn't have done this because it not only limits the appeal of the game (only straight males will go for it), but it also prevents us from completely empathizing with the characters. I've always said that the most important aspect of a romantic story is the beginning because that is where we begin our journey on this paramour path. Emily is Away does away with that, throwing all the important details into a gap that we only learn about in retrospect. A straight-up friendship would've been a lot better because you don't have to invest as much time into explaining why two people became pals.
Because I never bought into the romance, the games use of timeskips hurt the narrative even more. It jumps yearly, which makes no sense because, even if people are busy, we still communicate at least once a month. Reducing that skip would've made the inevitable drift between you and Emily more profound IMO, as it makes more sense for close people to fall apart after not talking for close to a year compared to a month.
The ability to type was a mixed bag. Yes, it gave the chat a little more of a realistic factor, but for those of us who are capable of touch typing, I think there should've been an option to allow us to type out the responses, or just click the response line and have the protagonist automatically type it. Random keying was mixed for me. I also found it strange that you would have to click to the left of a button you wanted to click on. I can't tell if this was a bug or an attempt by the developer to replicate an old form of computer interface, but I don't remember this being the case on WIndows XP, and it's inconsistently implemented in the game anyway.
I liked the avatar logos being throwbacks to whatever pop culture instance was popular at the time, and I liked that Emily came off as a real person despite obviously being a series of pre-programmed responses.
However, the ending was definitely meant to be more powerful than I ended up thinking it was. For some, this game will definitely appeal to you at the very heart, but I just couldn't relate myself. I know it seems juvenile to complain about a free game, but an artist put out their work with the intent of people reviewing it, and this is my own critique.
Overall though, I definitely recommend playing and experiencing it for yourself because, at the end of the day, it is free and ultimately interesting enough.