Playing as an content moderator on a capitalized oldschool internet fills me with dread on a fundamental level. Watching people adapt, learn, grow and connect with this janky technology is one the joys of this game, so seeing technical incompetence and hubris as well as capitalist interests (and some misogyny) impede or destroy relationships is heartbreaking. What is striking is really how it lands those emotional moments with sincerity and subtlety behind their grim reality specially nearing the last act. I must mention how memorable the various video, music, pets and effects the game has specially the monster catching and hot butter brand in bringing levity and charm. The story steps into various technical, political and social issues surrounding an emerging technology that I wish more games would tackle such as the lack of backwards compatibility which effectively deletes content similar which is still relevant in the current gaming industry. I am thankful the internet remains an open public good and this game reminds me of its grim alternative.
The other joy of this game is its slightly difficult puzzles with no hint system. No case is a simple page search but following breadcrumbs to hidden and private pages and software that feel rewarding to piece together. I do love the last act mechanic where each page has a new dimension that jives with its context and nostalgia in a way. What I love too is the moral ambiguity of the job itself whether to file a violation or detain a user specially how most of them are minors that perhaps need a guiding hand more than a ban hammer. This reason conflicts at times with less rewards in accessing more of the game's content such as pets and achievements which is a nice complication. I do urge players in avoid using a guide and take in the world that was created with passion and quirks.
My issues are few and the biggest one really is the artificial loading of pages for its immersion. It is cute early on but it feels more of an annoyance later on specially when the game offers a page speed booster program which comes with its own annoying ad popup window. The tradeoff between immersion and convenience here I feel was not really worth it. I was going to mention the lack of bookmarking but I late figured out every stamped pages can be viewed from the misleading lower left box next to the music player which conflicted with my expectation of a sidebar. Playing on a keyboard and mouse, I did not find any quick window switching shortcut like Alt+Tab available to bring windows to the foreground for some mechanics. One tedious mechanic in particular I wish had a browser button or program to check for hidden files instead having to manually type in a password everytime would be great. I do have a small peeve about the ending program as it feels out of place given the gravity of the situation although I do see how it loops back to the critical incident. As an indie game, some jank can be expected but overall the experience was pretty good.
I love this and would have been a game of its year.
The other joy of this game is its slightly difficult puzzles with no hint system. No case is a simple page search but following breadcrumbs to hidden and private pages and software that feel rewarding to piece together. I do love the last act mechanic where each page has a new dimension that jives with its context and nostalgia in a way. What I love too is the moral ambiguity of the job itself whether to file a violation or detain a user specially how most of them are minors that perhaps need a guiding hand more than a ban hammer. This reason conflicts at times with less rewards in accessing more of the game's content such as pets and achievements which is a nice complication. I do urge players in avoid using a guide and take in the world that was created with passion and quirks.
My issues are few and the biggest one really is the artificial loading of pages for its immersion. It is cute early on but it feels more of an annoyance later on specially when the game offers a page speed booster program which comes with its own annoying ad popup window. The tradeoff between immersion and convenience here I feel was not really worth it. I was going to mention the lack of bookmarking but I late figured out every stamped pages can be viewed from the misleading lower left box next to the music player which conflicted with my expectation of a sidebar. Playing on a keyboard and mouse, I did not find any quick window switching shortcut like Alt+Tab available to bring windows to the foreground for some mechanics. One tedious mechanic in particular I wish had a browser button or program to check for hidden files instead having to manually type in a password everytime would be great. I do have a small peeve about the ending program as it feels out of place given the gravity of the situation although I do see how it loops back to the critical incident. As an indie game, some jank can be expected but overall the experience was pretty good.
I love this and would have been a game of its year.