Songminx2
2016
Completely forgot how great the soundtrack was.
The story was too cryptic I ended up feeling indifferent though.
The story was too cryptic I ended up feeling indifferent though.
2022
Another example of 'being bigger doesn't mean it's better'
2019
Basically 'Her Story but bigger', now with four protagonist up from one and scenes take place in various locations rather than a nondescript room. Yet it's less complex, and too predictable. It lacks focus and things that made Her Story's story engaging such as twists and turns, fantastical atmosphere, sense of mystery, etc., and ends up feeling like a mindless chore (especially because of its length), whereas Her Story made me feel like I'm doing an actual detective job.
2022
It always feels fresh to see the world from a non-human perspective, especially if the world you're in is as beautiful as the world of Stray.
But that freshness is bound to diminish as you keep playing and unfortunately, the game doesn't really have anything else to offer.
Also, I feel like the game wastes its potential of the new perspective by making the player character feel more like a human in cat's form rather than an actual cat.
But that freshness is bound to diminish as you keep playing and unfortunately, the game doesn't really have anything else to offer.
Also, I feel like the game wastes its potential of the new perspective by making the player character feel more like a human in cat's form rather than an actual cat.
2015
It's really fascinating that something that boils down to just typing in some search terms and watching videos that shows up as a result is one of the most gripping experiences that the medium has to offer.
The story will unfurl wildly different to every player and in my case I unexpectedly found out who the real culprit of the murder was about 15 minutes into the game but that's not really the point because the real fun is in trying to make sense of how, where, when the murder happened.
What seemed relatively simple at first turns out to be a story full of mysteries, twists and turns, that sometimes even feel surreal, magical, that makes you want to know more, find out what really happened. You have to constantly course correct, go back to the square one, but when all the puzzle pieces fall into place, it's really satisfying.
I think that the search result only shows chronologically first five videos is very clever as it forces you to think outside of the box, branch out of your current line of thought. The performance by Viva Seifert is crucial in making the game work, as her subtle yet powerful performance tells as much if not more as her lines themselves, and it's also what makes you emotionally invested, feel for her, sympathise with her.
But then again, can you actually trust what she says? Are you sure about the conclusion you just made? It's these layers that make the story (and in turn the game) truly interesting and that make me keep thinking about it even after I finished it.
The story will unfurl wildly different to every player and in my case I unexpectedly found out who the real culprit of the murder was about 15 minutes into the game but that's not really the point because the real fun is in trying to make sense of how, where, when the murder happened.
What seemed relatively simple at first turns out to be a story full of mysteries, twists and turns, that sometimes even feel surreal, magical, that makes you want to know more, find out what really happened. You have to constantly course correct, go back to the square one, but when all the puzzle pieces fall into place, it's really satisfying.
I think that the search result only shows chronologically first five videos is very clever as it forces you to think outside of the box, branch out of your current line of thought. The performance by Viva Seifert is crucial in making the game work, as her subtle yet powerful performance tells as much if not more as her lines themselves, and it's also what makes you emotionally invested, feel for her, sympathise with her.
But then again, can you actually trust what she says? Are you sure about the conclusion you just made? It's these layers that make the story (and in turn the game) truly interesting and that make me keep thinking about it even after I finished it.
2021
It's a well polished game that looks good, but not really a interesting one. Doesn't really do anything new, while failing to reach the heights of level design of Souls, Zelda games (the biggest influences for the game).
(low 6)
(low 6)
2021
This review contains spoilers
Driving a truck around a small town listening to the radio, delivering mail, get to know the people. It's mundane, but the mundanity is what made the game memorable to me.
Probably one of the rare cases where the game would have benefitted from being longer. At the end of the game I felt like I was leaving the town just as I was starting to get used to it. I wanted know more about the people there, how their lives pan out, but the game just got cut short. In a similar vein, I didn't like both of the romancable characters so I decided not to have a relationship with either of them and I think I might have thought differently if I had more time to get to know them and slowly build the connection.
(mid 7)
Probably one of the rare cases where the game would have benefitted from being longer. At the end of the game I felt like I was leaving the town just as I was starting to get used to it. I wanted know more about the people there, how their lives pan out, but the game just got cut short. In a similar vein, I didn't like both of the romancable characters so I decided not to have a relationship with either of them and I think I might have thought differently if I had more time to get to know them and slowly build the connection.
(mid 7)
2021
Interesting idea, not sure about the execution. At some point it just felt like a chore. Didn't hit me emotionally as much as I expected unfortunately. (low 6)
2021
There's nothing particularly wrong about the game. It's a decent fun twin stick shooter that plays well. But at the same time there's nothing that makes it memorable, that makes it stick out.
Or I guess I could say it's memorable because of how colourless it is... It was a weird, confusing experience.
(mid 5?)
Or I guess I could say it's memorable because of how colourless it is... It was a weird, confusing experience.
(mid 5?)
2021
The game keeps providing interesting bits of story, challenges and puzzles without getting overly complicated or obtuse, nor overwhelm the player with the flood of information and as a result there's a sense of movement. And I think this is the most impressive thing of the game: how they nailed the pace and flow.
(high 8)
(high 8)
2021
Wish I could like this game more because there’s a lot of interesting gameplay ideas there and I also really liked the wacky story and characters and atmosphere… but with clunky control, repetitive structure, it’s just not very fun to play. But on the other hand this game is full of charm even with all of its failings…
The more I think about it, the more I get confused…
The more I think about it, the more I get confused…
What I read about (I think it was an interview on EDGE) how the creator works is quite interesting. So basically he downloads lots of renaissance artwork from the internet and piece them together, then he makes up the story based on the result.
And the story definitely feels like it, but in this case, its inconsistency actually works as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. The inconsistency makes it almost impossible to foresee what's going to come next (both artwork and story wise) and this only adds to the silliness of the game which is what the creator was going for (I think).
Also great thing is the game doesn't overstay its welcome, taking only 2-3 hours to see more or less everything the game has to offer.
(high 7)
And the story definitely feels like it, but in this case, its inconsistency actually works as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. The inconsistency makes it almost impossible to foresee what's going to come next (both artwork and story wise) and this only adds to the silliness of the game which is what the creator was going for (I think).
Also great thing is the game doesn't overstay its welcome, taking only 2-3 hours to see more or less everything the game has to offer.
(high 7)
2021
Beautiful pixel art, satisfying to play, music is quite nice also.
Not sure about the time limit though. Felt it clashed with the genre considering exploration is one of the essential part of it. Fortunately you can turn it off.
(low 8)
Not sure about the time limit though. Felt it clashed with the genre considering exploration is one of the essential part of it. Fortunately you can turn it off.
(low 8)
This review contains spoilers
I played this after Odyssey so the gameplay wise it felt rather basic compared to that game - less RPG elements (lack of character customisation, no dialogue choice even if it doesn't really have an impact in Odyssey, etc), combat is much simpler, maybe a bit too simple.
Origin is also much shorter than Odyssey but this in my opinion is actually an advantage rather than a shortcoming. Since it has less side contents ("bloats"), the main story felt like it had more weight to it.
The story itself, while nothing special, was enjoyable thanks to the well written and well acted characters. My problem with it is that the ending felt somewhat abrupt, and even though Aya is a great character, I don't think it was a right choice to not end the game with the character the players spent the most time with.
Regarding Aya, I feel like there is a huge missed potential. Maybe they could have written a story with two protagonists or maybe do some DLC that tells Aya's story after the main game or they even could have done something akin to Odyssey and Valhalla although I prefer this option much less than the first one. (iirc the last one was actually the case when the game was in development but since Ubisoft management are famously sexist assholes, compromises need to be made and the game turned out to be what it is today.)
(high 7)
Origin is also much shorter than Odyssey but this in my opinion is actually an advantage rather than a shortcoming. Since it has less side contents ("bloats"), the main story felt like it had more weight to it.
The story itself, while nothing special, was enjoyable thanks to the well written and well acted characters. My problem with it is that the ending felt somewhat abrupt, and even though Aya is a great character, I don't think it was a right choice to not end the game with the character the players spent the most time with.
Regarding Aya, I feel like there is a huge missed potential. Maybe they could have written a story with two protagonists or maybe do some DLC that tells Aya's story after the main game or they even could have done something akin to Odyssey and Valhalla although I prefer this option much less than the first one. (iirc the last one was actually the case when the game was in development but since Ubisoft management are famously sexist assholes, compromises need to be made and the game turned out to be what it is today.)
(high 7)
I was surprised by how the card game mechanic works really well as an analogy to how people have conversation with each other.
As for the game itself, I liked the atmosphere, somewhat melancholic but at the same time there is hope that makes people move on.
But maybe they should have made a playthrough a bit shorter as it's (imo) imperative to go through several playthroughs to properly see what the game has to offer. (I think even people who are not really trying to 100% the game should do at least 2-3 runs)
(low 7)
As for the game itself, I liked the atmosphere, somewhat melancholic but at the same time there is hope that makes people move on.
But maybe they should have made a playthrough a bit shorter as it's (imo) imperative to go through several playthroughs to properly see what the game has to offer. (I think even people who are not really trying to 100% the game should do at least 2-3 runs)
(low 7)