Long Version: Exists at the intersection of simultaneous insane visual, game, and narrative design. Every inch of this project feels completely effortless and authentic, in a way that I would’ve never been able to predict going in. I think it’d be a disservice to Heisei Pistol Show to compare it against other games, especially with the level of transparency there is for its message and development within its text. I don’t think you end up making something like this without having some sort of deep connection to the subject matter, and so I think it’d be disrespectful for me to approach it with a coldly analytical review. So, let me just urge anyone reading this to play the game and see it through. It’s like, around two hours. Someone even made an excellent playthrough you can follow. This is the most a video game has resonated with me in a really long time, I think it’s a special thing that I got to play this.

https://patchy-illusion-team.itch.io/heisei-pistol-show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTvwlBeNzxs

Short Version: I Get It