This review contains spoilers

It's easy to be really cynical with media breaking the fourth wall these days. A lot of the time, it's only to emulate popular video game creepypastas: the game is alive, the game knows you are playing it, this is scary. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking OneShot is the same at first glance: the description on Steam sounds scary, the game opens in a typical horror scene - a dark, abandoned house - and the first fourth wall break reinforce the game knowing you exist.

Fortunately, the game's tone changes once the introduction is over, and uses fourth wall breaks mostly for puzzles and for endearing you to Niko, the game's protagonist. This, along with the notion you only have one shot at saving the world, is still theatrics, but it works because Niko themselves is an excellent protagonist, full of curiosity about the world they are tasked to save, and also full of curiosity about you, a higher deity and source of comfort. It works because the world itself is interesting and mysterious enough to think you probably have one shot at this -for real- and act with caution around it. And it works because the puzzles themselves makes good use of fourth wall breaks; a particular late game one was memorable enough.

In short, the fourth wall breaks are there to make you care about the world and Niko, in a very efficient manner. And it's how this game manages to have a heavy emotional impact in the end.

This game is one of my favourites.

Reviewed on Jun 12, 2021


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