I think the best way for me to review this is to rate each storyline, because it's the best way for me to explain what I love and don't love about this game.
5. Ted - His route was pretty simple, but so lacking in story. They never explain anything about his past, even though it was hinted at in the intro to the game. Very weak sauce.
4. Benny - Has the opposite problem, where the writing was really good (the inner monologues were especially effective), but the puzzles kept getting me softlocked. It wasn't always clear what the right choice was, which resulted in the most game overs for me.
3. Gorrister - Love his characterization, and his narrative was really strange and interesting. The puzzles in this one were the most esoteric, which adds to the oddity of the story, but makes the gameplay a bit of a slog... Didn't help that I also got somewhat softlocked because I did things in an order the game didn't like for some reason (even though I only used a guide AFTER I was having issues).
2. Nimdok - This one is so dark, I literally almost had to pause the game to get some air. Short too, which kept puzzles very concise and overall self-explanatory to a degree.
1. Ellen - I haven't looked at many discussions of this game due to spoilers, but the little I've seen don't mention her route much, which I think is criminal. She is easily the best written character of the bunch, and brings some extremely effective emotional highs and lows. The puzzles were straightforward, but definitely required good thought (with the exception of the last leg, though other routes had similar issues). I hope I'm wrong by saying her route is the most underrated.
I won't discuss the endgame for spoiler reasons, but I am so disappointed with the way they handled it from a gameplay perspective. It's a shame too, because this game has so much going for it despite its age and the genre it occupies.
Overall, I still would recommend this game to those who want to try a point-n-click and can handle the really heavy themes it presents. It does kneecap itself on multiple occasions, which makes me not like this as much as I want to. However, when the good moments come, they really shine, and will definitely stick with you.
5. Ted - His route was pretty simple, but so lacking in story. They never explain anything about his past, even though it was hinted at in the intro to the game. Very weak sauce.
4. Benny - Has the opposite problem, where the writing was really good (the inner monologues were especially effective), but the puzzles kept getting me softlocked. It wasn't always clear what the right choice was, which resulted in the most game overs for me.
3. Gorrister - Love his characterization, and his narrative was really strange and interesting. The puzzles in this one were the most esoteric, which adds to the oddity of the story, but makes the gameplay a bit of a slog... Didn't help that I also got somewhat softlocked because I did things in an order the game didn't like for some reason (even though I only used a guide AFTER I was having issues).
2. Nimdok - This one is so dark, I literally almost had to pause the game to get some air. Short too, which kept puzzles very concise and overall self-explanatory to a degree.
1. Ellen - I haven't looked at many discussions of this game due to spoilers, but the little I've seen don't mention her route much, which I think is criminal. She is easily the best written character of the bunch, and brings some extremely effective emotional highs and lows. The puzzles were straightforward, but definitely required good thought (with the exception of the last leg, though other routes had similar issues). I hope I'm wrong by saying her route is the most underrated.
I won't discuss the endgame for spoiler reasons, but I am so disappointed with the way they handled it from a gameplay perspective. It's a shame too, because this game has so much going for it despite its age and the genre it occupies.
Overall, I still would recommend this game to those who want to try a point-n-click and can handle the really heavy themes it presents. It does kneecap itself on multiple occasions, which makes me not like this as much as I want to. However, when the good moments come, they really shine, and will definitely stick with you.