I'm generally positive on Overboard! There's a lot to like about it. It's got that signature Inkle flair that jazzes up its simple visual novel interface with colorful art, period-appropriate big band swing soundtrack, and snappy writing.
While there isn't a lot of depth to the narrative in its pulpy detective story and two-dimensional characters, it's got enough intrigue and charm to pull you into discovering its secrets, puzzling out the steps to cover up your not-so-perfect crime, or just making fun choices to roleplay your femme fatale fantasies. Also, it touches on the politics of the time with a deft hand, reflecting the regressive ideas of the 1930s while approaching it with modern sensibilities without being ham-fistedly finger-waggy.
It's important to note that your choices are limited to the character you are playing as. Veronica Villensey is her own woman; she's a film starlet, conventionally beautiful and confident, and she can wield those assets as gracefully or as bluntly as you desire. But you're no agent 47, so you can't just go around killing people then easily hide their bodies if things go to ♥♥♥♥. At least, not without a lot of effort or facing immediate consequences.
I 100% appreciate the limitations and the conveniences of these mechanics. Veronica's character is well-realized in whichever dialogue option you choose, revealing different sides to her that coalesce into a believable sexy thriller protagonist you can sympathize with and root for. The rewind feature gives you some leeway for mistakes without completely robbing decision-making of any weight.
However, I can't deny that the shiny veneer of the aesthetics and writing wore thin at times, as I bumped up against the walls of what you can do and discover on my way to the ending that gets you credits. Even with the breezy runtime and ways to speed up sequences, I found myself getting impatient while stumbling through the "right" way to beat the game.
Comparing it to other time-loop games like Outer Wilds or Deathloop, I find that even when I'm repeating actions in those games, the more direct control you have makes the moment-to-moment gameplay more engaging than skipping through the same lines of text. Comparing it to other detective visual novel stories like the Ace Attorney series, the more intricate logic puzzles and wilder plot twists in those games make for more satisfying rewards than the straightforward obstacles that give way to soap opera reveals in Overboard!
Maybe it's unfair to compare this small indie game to more ambitious titles with bigger productions, especially after finding out that Overboard was made during this pandemic in only 3 months! But yeah, there were moments when I was working towards the "true" ending where I felt like I just wanted it to be over.
Funny thing is that after the credits rolled, I saw in the achievements that there's actually a way to kill all 7 cast members, which I hadn't even really thought was possible. Turns out I had as just a devilishly good time solving that murder puzzle as I did for the first quarter of the game, as the possibility space in this tiny ocean liner was bigger than I initially thought. Of course, I am such a typical gamer that doing six more murders was the thing that left me on a high note in a game with the setup of just getting away with one. It does help that the ending for getting a septuple homicide left me hootin' n' hollerin' in absolute bewilderment!
TL;DR
Overboard! is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours doing light reverse crime investigation. The premise is novel, which in itself is something I find praiseworthy in this medium, and the pizzazz carries the proceedings for a handful of playthroughs. Just lower your expectations for what's possible with its structure and short development, and you'll have a good time... or be a real sicko like me and try to murder everyone for a totally unexpected ending.
While there isn't a lot of depth to the narrative in its pulpy detective story and two-dimensional characters, it's got enough intrigue and charm to pull you into discovering its secrets, puzzling out the steps to cover up your not-so-perfect crime, or just making fun choices to roleplay your femme fatale fantasies. Also, it touches on the politics of the time with a deft hand, reflecting the regressive ideas of the 1930s while approaching it with modern sensibilities without being ham-fistedly finger-waggy.
It's important to note that your choices are limited to the character you are playing as. Veronica Villensey is her own woman; she's a film starlet, conventionally beautiful and confident, and she can wield those assets as gracefully or as bluntly as you desire. But you're no agent 47, so you can't just go around killing people then easily hide their bodies if things go to ♥♥♥♥. At least, not without a lot of effort or facing immediate consequences.
I 100% appreciate the limitations and the conveniences of these mechanics. Veronica's character is well-realized in whichever dialogue option you choose, revealing different sides to her that coalesce into a believable sexy thriller protagonist you can sympathize with and root for. The rewind feature gives you some leeway for mistakes without completely robbing decision-making of any weight.
However, I can't deny that the shiny veneer of the aesthetics and writing wore thin at times, as I bumped up against the walls of what you can do and discover on my way to the ending that gets you credits. Even with the breezy runtime and ways to speed up sequences, I found myself getting impatient while stumbling through the "right" way to beat the game.
Comparing it to other time-loop games like Outer Wilds or Deathloop, I find that even when I'm repeating actions in those games, the more direct control you have makes the moment-to-moment gameplay more engaging than skipping through the same lines of text. Comparing it to other detective visual novel stories like the Ace Attorney series, the more intricate logic puzzles and wilder plot twists in those games make for more satisfying rewards than the straightforward obstacles that give way to soap opera reveals in Overboard!
Maybe it's unfair to compare this small indie game to more ambitious titles with bigger productions, especially after finding out that Overboard was made during this pandemic in only 3 months! But yeah, there were moments when I was working towards the "true" ending where I felt like I just wanted it to be over.
Funny thing is that after the credits rolled, I saw in the achievements that there's actually a way to kill all 7 cast members, which I hadn't even really thought was possible. Turns out I had as just a devilishly good time solving that murder puzzle as I did for the first quarter of the game, as the possibility space in this tiny ocean liner was bigger than I initially thought. Of course, I am such a typical gamer that doing six more murders was the thing that left me on a high note in a game with the setup of just getting away with one. It does help that the ending for getting a septuple homicide left me hootin' n' hollerin' in absolute bewilderment!
TL;DR
Overboard! is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours doing light reverse crime investigation. The premise is novel, which in itself is something I find praiseworthy in this medium, and the pizzazz carries the proceedings for a handful of playthroughs. Just lower your expectations for what's possible with its structure and short development, and you'll have a good time... or be a real sicko like me and try to murder everyone for a totally unexpected ending.