Like other reviews have outlined, this game is far too pre-occupied with a few things that hold it back from being an overall cool/fun/engaging experience:
- Too many tedious "plate-spinning" mechanics. Coming back to the game 6+ months after I first played it, I realized I couldn't even remember enough of the SUPER SPECIFIC ways you survive the early game, and the idea of reading a bunch of guides or failing 5 times again to figure them all out just didn't feel worth it.
- Way too many vague mechanics with incredibly specific solutions. You can literally fail a run just because you didn't buy a book when it was offered to you (since there apparently is a limited number of each book). You could survive HOURS of a run without knowing that there is NO available solutions to you left.
- The way time is managed in the game just isn't a fun gameplay loop. Some sort of turn-based system (that just auto-skips over turns while you're waiting) would be far better, since you have to pause the game so much anyways that the existence of a "real-time clock" isn't doing anything productive.
What I can say positive about the game is that it has inspired me as a game design more potently than almost any game I've ever played. That's not reason enough for me to recommend it to other people, but it is notable. There are a LOT of fascinating mechanics and interactions and ideas in this game, and I think there is a version of it that could be one of the coolest games ever...but unfortunately, for me, this isn't it. It needs a lot of refinement. Someone who puts 15+ hours into trying to understand and progress in a game like this -- a person who loves the type of game it is and wants to connect with it -- and then comes out of that time feeling like they've made barely any progress...that's not a great game in my eyes.
Gameplay Design: 5/10
User Experience: 6/10
Narrative Design: 6/10
Plot/Story: 3/10
Narrative Themes: 6/10
Visuals: 7/10
- Too many tedious "plate-spinning" mechanics. Coming back to the game 6+ months after I first played it, I realized I couldn't even remember enough of the SUPER SPECIFIC ways you survive the early game, and the idea of reading a bunch of guides or failing 5 times again to figure them all out just didn't feel worth it.
- Way too many vague mechanics with incredibly specific solutions. You can literally fail a run just because you didn't buy a book when it was offered to you (since there apparently is a limited number of each book). You could survive HOURS of a run without knowing that there is NO available solutions to you left.
- The way time is managed in the game just isn't a fun gameplay loop. Some sort of turn-based system (that just auto-skips over turns while you're waiting) would be far better, since you have to pause the game so much anyways that the existence of a "real-time clock" isn't doing anything productive.
What I can say positive about the game is that it has inspired me as a game design more potently than almost any game I've ever played. That's not reason enough for me to recommend it to other people, but it is notable. There are a LOT of fascinating mechanics and interactions and ideas in this game, and I think there is a version of it that could be one of the coolest games ever...but unfortunately, for me, this isn't it. It needs a lot of refinement. Someone who puts 15+ hours into trying to understand and progress in a game like this -- a person who loves the type of game it is and wants to connect with it -- and then comes out of that time feeling like they've made barely any progress...that's not a great game in my eyes.
Gameplay Design: 5/10
User Experience: 6/10
Narrative Design: 6/10
Plot/Story: 3/10
Narrative Themes: 6/10
Visuals: 7/10
rentheunclean
1 year ago
I feel exactly the same way about this game, so much about it is evocative and interesting, but it hamstrings itself with tedious mechanics and esoteric memorization.