After I recently played VideoVerse and also having listened to them on The Back Page Podcast I knew that I could trust Lucy Blundell’s writing.

In a way this game has passed me by but I will also admit here that the title conjured up something in me that put me off. It wasn’t thinking about one night stands themselves but when videogames attempt to be sexy, more often than not it’s a miss, sometimes cringe and potentially offensive.
This title is not.

One Night Stand is a very short experience but one that encourages you to try it again to discover the different outcomes your decisions can make, surprising revelations and ultimately rack up a selection of different endings.

Each of these are full of wonderful writing, full of realistic and relatable notes. If there is any moment of cringing it is something you have opted to see. There are very few characters involved as you’d expect and the main being the woman you have found yourself awake next to - even their name is a spoiler.
She can be funny, sweet or even cold but again, feels real.

Replaying the story you can skip text and the options are quite diverse considering the, almost, one room setting. These retries also gave me a light feeling of a good detective game, discovering evidence and piecing separate dialogue together with a mental red string that not only painted a much fuller picture than I could visually see but one with some good “ah ha” and “oh shit!” moments.

Speaking of what I could see visually, I love the art style. A simple pencil sketch looking feel that gave me Hotel Dusk vibes. Great facial expressions from your one-night stand and lots of brilliant details within the room that again enhances the feeling that this story is not purely fiction.

In the end however, I feel a little conflicted about this title. It is smartly written, beautifully presented and executed well but whilst I do not dislike short games playing the same short game over and over made me feel contradictory views of wanting more but also finding getting the last few endings more of something like busy work than the mild detective feel I had gotten earlier.
An argument could be made to just get a few endings and put it down when you feel you’ve seen enough variation, but having a screen full of blank squares you know you can fill, boxes you can check - it’s hard to do that when you know the effort, at least in terms of time, is so low.

I enjoyed my initial ending with this game, I played it “as if” it was me and was pleased. It made me want to see more of the world and that is good.
I enjoyed doing things I would definitely not, going for things I felt were possibly the stupidest decisions and having a good laugh at them.
The writing carries this game and it is definitely worth a play considering it's about the price of a coffee - ultimately I’m just not sure that this format of short with a dozen endings is my vibe compared to long with a few endings, but that is fine. There is space for all types of storytelling and I’m happy that we get to experience them.

I got a big soft spot for this title. When I got my Switch this was one of the first games I tried out from the eshop. It looked interesting and up my alley and it certainly was. But it also inspired me to start writing about games and my experiences with them because I had a lot to say for such a short experience.

I really love the style this game has, the pencil strokes and choppy movements give it a special kinda flair that other games don't have. I really liked the woman you interact with as well. Oddly enough, I actually like how she was designed? Her body has curves and it feels very natural. She dosent look like a plastic model she looks like a regular person. That adds to the experience I think because a lot of the game is just learning about her and this situation you're in.

It's a super short experience, you can get to the credits in like, 30 minutes. But there are many endings and ways the story plays out to where it gets expanded to about 3-4 hours.

It has a bit of an immature sense of humor depending on the route you go. And there ARE very invasive routes you can go. Snooping through her things and being a creep. But I think having multiple options are welcome. It would be more weird if those WERENT in a game like this.

I do have a big issue with the "real" ending. The very last piece of info you get. It was so mean spirited and didn't really add anything to the game. I'm not sure why it was included because as it is it is great.

It's down to earth and warm and cozy to play. It has great style and it really sticks out in my mind for notable indies I like.

Would very much recommend this little gem. It's nothing crazy but it's something I'll always come back to

This is a very short and sweet visual novel . What I really appreciate are resisting the temptations to violate privacy for a health relationship. On the other hand, I am conflicted with how the game rewards a completionist behavior with achievements and insights. I do think that some of the choices to get completion seem to move an internal relationship meter but observing the actual result seem contradictory so I had to resort to a guide. Still, the best ending for me does still reward that restraint as tricky as it can be. The secret message though I feel is unnecessary as it sours the positive meaning it is going for. Lastly, the rotoscope animations are really nice which is above and beyond for a small product.

Overall, an unique and good experience given its indie scale along with that is my recommendation. Also, the developer is asexual which makes this creation much more intriguing.