Somewhere in a wheat field, a boy hugs his mother
I guess that one of the biggest compliments that I can give OneShot right of the bat is that it has seriously made me revaluate my opinions in other games that attempt to hit the same notes and have the same impact, so yeah, funnily enough, in a way it made me see the light.
OneShot isn't scared of showing what it is, from the moment Niko wakes up in that dark and dusty room, it lets you know in what kind of voyage you have set yourself and the child you control into, and from there it only becomes more and more magical.
While I wasn't aware of the specifics, I knew that this game would break the fourth wall in different ways, but whereas others use this narrative tool as a way to inject themselves into reality, creating a small sense of unease or even mock you as a player, this world literally calls you a god, everyone knows that you are in some king of outer plane, while only a few understanding fully the gravity of situation.
Puzzles will require you to break the bounds, both to think outside the box and to see beyond the window that encapsulates this broken land; this sadly leads to some parts of it being a little bit more confusing than they should: you may be unsure to what to do next or where to look, how to properly interact to some things or even find certain rooms and objects… but in a way that also helps the overall experience. You arrive the same way as Niko does: not knowing a fuck about this place, its people and its rules; you may have more power than anybody, but that doesn’t stop you from being confused. It’s through that confusion that you and Niko connect: you see his fears, his illusion, his confusion and his wonder, and alongside him you learn of these places, of this characters, and it’s all so… lovable. I believe that it’s genuinely impossible to hate this not cat person and the curious inhabitants of the different places you both come across, it’s impossible to not feel care towards all this poor people, trying to live their lives the best that they can, as well as to care for Niko, to feel the sadness of the fact that is he whom must bear such burden.
Grief, loss, hopelessness, defeat and inevitability are words that came throughout the little voyage and ones that I go back to define the experience as a whole; it’s an extremely sad game, and it never gives you clear answer of what might come next… but it also has this… comfort, I think it’s the best word. The interactions, locations and especially the fantastic soundtrack fill me with this feeling of nostalgia for a time I never got to live, for a place I never got to see on its prime; Niko also feels this nostalgia, and even though this pilgrimage may be scary for him at times, it also makes him smile, and it makes you smile and feel wonder too.
You both push forward, defying the improbable and answering the unanswerable.
Here, at the top of the tower, after the truth has been told and machine and author and powerless to do anything, a final decision remains.
And it’s hard, man.
Fuck FromSoftware and its games, this is the true most challenging part of any game, it will even make your eyes sweat- NO I’M NOT CRIYING YOU ARE CRIYING!
OneShot’s first run Is only comparable to the best experiences I’ve had in the entire medium, and it made me feel and care in a way I really thought it couldn’t. It’s a tale of victories and defeats, of unresolved finales and sweet conclusions, and one that will end in one way, but it’s up to you which it’ll be…
…But what if it hadn’t to be like that?
You even defy the core objective of the program, and what is left is one last pilgrimage to the tower, this time it will be different. I will be scarier. But it’s a risk worth taking. There may be hope for all. Or maybe there won’t.
I really don’t want to go into much detail about the ‘’Solstice’’ ending (nor the game as a whole) ‘cause I really think it’s worth experiencing it. I understand those how of it as redundant or that it detracted from the original experience, I myself thought it was counter-intuitive to do something like that in such a game… but once again, it surprised. It still retains what makes OneShot special, and more importantly, it expands on certain themes left in the air, themes world exploring. Themes about the living and the machine. How the line between the two is not as defined as we think… and how something ‘’fake’’ can be so, so real.
One Shot isn’t perfect, and I understand how some could see more flaws in it than I did, but… It ended being so special at so many levels I couldn’t even begin to re-tell it. It knows what is, but it’s also so much more, more than anyone could have ever thought it could ever be. It’s a bittersweet tale, one you may think is better off with a bittersweet ending, and you may be right…
But a happy ending is warranted, always…
Especially if it makes us smile.
I guess that one of the biggest compliments that I can give OneShot right of the bat is that it has seriously made me revaluate my opinions in other games that attempt to hit the same notes and have the same impact, so yeah, funnily enough, in a way it made me see the light.
OneShot isn't scared of showing what it is, from the moment Niko wakes up in that dark and dusty room, it lets you know in what kind of voyage you have set yourself and the child you control into, and from there it only becomes more and more magical.
While I wasn't aware of the specifics, I knew that this game would break the fourth wall in different ways, but whereas others use this narrative tool as a way to inject themselves into reality, creating a small sense of unease or even mock you as a player, this world literally calls you a god, everyone knows that you are in some king of outer plane, while only a few understanding fully the gravity of situation.
Puzzles will require you to break the bounds, both to think outside the box and to see beyond the window that encapsulates this broken land; this sadly leads to some parts of it being a little bit more confusing than they should: you may be unsure to what to do next or where to look, how to properly interact to some things or even find certain rooms and objects… but in a way that also helps the overall experience. You arrive the same way as Niko does: not knowing a fuck about this place, its people and its rules; you may have more power than anybody, but that doesn’t stop you from being confused. It’s through that confusion that you and Niko connect: you see his fears, his illusion, his confusion and his wonder, and alongside him you learn of these places, of this characters, and it’s all so… lovable. I believe that it’s genuinely impossible to hate this not cat person and the curious inhabitants of the different places you both come across, it’s impossible to not feel care towards all this poor people, trying to live their lives the best that they can, as well as to care for Niko, to feel the sadness of the fact that is he whom must bear such burden.
Grief, loss, hopelessness, defeat and inevitability are words that came throughout the little voyage and ones that I go back to define the experience as a whole; it’s an extremely sad game, and it never gives you clear answer of what might come next… but it also has this… comfort, I think it’s the best word. The interactions, locations and especially the fantastic soundtrack fill me with this feeling of nostalgia for a time I never got to live, for a place I never got to see on its prime; Niko also feels this nostalgia, and even though this pilgrimage may be scary for him at times, it also makes him smile, and it makes you smile and feel wonder too.
You both push forward, defying the improbable and answering the unanswerable.
Here, at the top of the tower, after the truth has been told and machine and author and powerless to do anything, a final decision remains.
And it’s hard, man.
Fuck FromSoftware and its games, this is the true most challenging part of any game, it will even make your eyes sweat- NO I’M NOT CRIYING YOU ARE CRIYING!
OneShot’s first run Is only comparable to the best experiences I’ve had in the entire medium, and it made me feel and care in a way I really thought it couldn’t. It’s a tale of victories and defeats, of unresolved finales and sweet conclusions, and one that will end in one way, but it’s up to you which it’ll be…
…But what if it hadn’t to be like that?
You even defy the core objective of the program, and what is left is one last pilgrimage to the tower, this time it will be different. I will be scarier. But it’s a risk worth taking. There may be hope for all. Or maybe there won’t.
I really don’t want to go into much detail about the ‘’Solstice’’ ending (nor the game as a whole) ‘cause I really think it’s worth experiencing it. I understand those how of it as redundant or that it detracted from the original experience, I myself thought it was counter-intuitive to do something like that in such a game… but once again, it surprised. It still retains what makes OneShot special, and more importantly, it expands on certain themes left in the air, themes world exploring. Themes about the living and the machine. How the line between the two is not as defined as we think… and how something ‘’fake’’ can be so, so real.
One Shot isn’t perfect, and I understand how some could see more flaws in it than I did, but… It ended being so special at so many levels I couldn’t even begin to re-tell it. It knows what is, but it’s also so much more, more than anyone could have ever thought it could ever be. It’s a bittersweet tale, one you may think is better off with a bittersweet ending, and you may be right…
But a happy ending is warranted, always…
Especially if it makes us smile.
The fact that I managed to play this game by avoiding any spoilers for 7 years is amazing, this is a must play for indie-gamers that got buried by the release of the indie game that must not be spoken of.
nah i can't tell you anything about it dude you just gotta play it, you'll see why dude
This review contains spoilers
So OneShot technically has two endings, there’s an initial ending and then there is the “Solstice” ending. The initial OneShot ending had me in tears. You can work really hard, do all the right things, try to figure everything out… and sometimes there still won’t be a right answer. But no matter what you choose, Niko chooses to believe in you. Sometimes a friend choosing to be there with you at your side can make all the difference and give you the opportunity to push through and make hard decisions.
An emotional gut punch with an optimistic and pure heart- it’s a beautiful triumph and a compelling narrative.
An emotional gut punch with an optimistic and pure heart- it’s a beautiful triumph and a compelling narrative.
This review contains spoilers
Recommended by @DeemonAndGames for this list.
Light Spoilers
I’ve played a lot of games, but very few of those games are purely story/puzzle focused. Despite that, the few games I have played that make both of those two elements a focus seem to have two major hurdles that are harder to deal with than in other kinds of games:
1. How do you appropriately punish the player when the gameplay is purely knowledge based?
2. How can replaying the game be as good as initially, let alone better?
It’s not like these questions are exclusive to story/puzzle games, but having a focus on these elements makes answering these questions much more critical than with other genres. Different games have different ways of trying to get over these hurdles. Moon: Remix RPG Adventure is non-linear and has a timer to promote efficiency, Hypnospace Outlaw is extremely open-ended, allowing for multiple solutions to problems along with an endless amount of side content, and Ace Attorney… honestly doesn’t try to get over these problems. Oh well.
I think that those two questions are a reason OneShot appealed to me in the first place, @DeemonAndGame’s recommendation non-withstanding. I wanted to play it someday, because if you only get one shot at a game, you kinda bypass those two questions. It’s a novel concept, and in the 2014 version you couldn’t even close the window! You can’t really sell a game like that easily though, so it’s understandable that the 2016 version made some changes.
It’s about cat-looking kid named Niko who’s basically isekai’d into some world where the sun is a lightbulb. Niko, along with the help of god (the player), has to bring the lightbulb to a tower to restore the sun, which previously went out. All of this was prophesized, of course. You meet a lot of decently likeable characters who have some fairly humourous moments as you trek through the world trying to get to the tower. Kind of a nitpick, but I think it’s a bit odd that considering how important Niko is to the fate of the world, very few people seem to care about actually helping him. Like yeah, some people are pretty nihilistic and think the world is going to end even if the sun comes back, but plenty still have hope. Someone would probably try and take the sun and get a ransom for it or something. Actually, maybe that would be a bad plan, because when some robot tries to stop Niko because he doesn’t have a library card, no one seems to care. Are they ok with the world dying because the messiah didn’t have a library card? Why can’t Niko just ignore the robot? They’re specifically programmed to not hurt people.
I guess the reason is that that would be a very boring game if everything was handed to you. It’s not like the gameplay here is exhilarating or fast-paced anyway, but it is good, albeit very simple. You can select items to interact with overworld objects and combine items to make new ones. I do think it’s a bit easy to just trial-and-error item combining, as there’s no punishment for it, but that’s not a big deal. For me personally, I never really needed to. Progression was usually very straightforward, barring some very major exceptions I will get to. You just go until you hit a roadblock, explore to find items, interact with overworld objects and combine in ways that are logical, and then keep going. It’s less frustrating than a game like, let’s say, Ace Attorney, but it also creates few “Aha!” moments, which is something Ace Attorney excels at.
Well, there are the ‘very major exceptions’ I mentioned earlier, which are far more interesting and novel. Games nowadays are meta. But OneShot is like,really meta. The first time this was used for puzzle, it caught me off guard. I was afraid the novelty of these kinds of moments would wear off as I grew to expect them, and it did to an extent, but the execution of them is still rather good for the most part. They’re often hinted in ways that would make sense without the meta context, they escalate in dramatic effect, it’s pretty well done. Honestly, these puzzles are the best part of the game in my opinion. I do wish a few were more subtle in terms of actually being puzzles, but that could apply to the entire game as I said before.
In terms of visuals, the game does the job. They’re fine, sometimes looking rather good, but I don’t think they’re great, and the repetition of some visuals kind of hurts the exploration. A lot of locations kind of just blend in, so remembering where you have and haven’t been is occasionally tricky. The music, while limited, is good.
Generally, I'd say the game was really good, but aside from the meta puzzle stuff, I wouldn’t describe anything as particularly great. Most of the characters are cool, but not great (Although I did like the player interactions with Niko quite a bit). The normal puzzles are good enough, but not great. And honestly, while me nitpicking the plot was mostly just for comedic effect, it did make me realize the plot isn’t really active at all. You could probably cut out the middle area of the game, the Glen, and not lose anything in terms of actual events. That aside, the game's story is pretty repetitive. Maybe Niko really should’ve been kidnapped by some guy or something. Maybe at least one character should’ve tried to accompany Niko to some extent.
Maybe I’m being too harsh though. That’s not to say I don’t think those criticisms aren’t warranted, but if you instead look at the game as a story meant to take place over two playthroughs, this isn’t as big of a deal, because the second playthrough is more active in general. One could easily see the ending of the first playthrough as a sort of ‘second act low point’ for a greater story which includes two playthroughs. By extension, the first playthrough being formulaic and could be seen as an attempt to build expectations, which a second playthrough subverts. Really, that’s discussion of how we should critique games goes far beyond this review, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that there is a second playthrough in the first place, considering the game keeps telling you that ‘you only get one shot’. So uh… I guess the game doesn’t entirely bypass those two questions I mentioned earlier, huh? Well, while you can replay the game after getting the ‘good ending’, there are some permanent consequences regardless. It’s a fine consolation prize, but I honestly would’ve preferred just not being allowed to play the game again, as counter intuitive as that sounds. Still, there is a sense of finality to it all that I’m glad the game leaned into.
My score is 7/10, close to an 8. I was harsh on it for sure, but in the end it did most of what it set out to do. It’s a game where most of it is good and a few elements are great. I’d recommend it to anyone, although it's probably a game best experienced on PC.
Light Spoilers
I’ve played a lot of games, but very few of those games are purely story/puzzle focused. Despite that, the few games I have played that make both of those two elements a focus seem to have two major hurdles that are harder to deal with than in other kinds of games:
1. How do you appropriately punish the player when the gameplay is purely knowledge based?
2. How can replaying the game be as good as initially, let alone better?
It’s not like these questions are exclusive to story/puzzle games, but having a focus on these elements makes answering these questions much more critical than with other genres. Different games have different ways of trying to get over these hurdles. Moon: Remix RPG Adventure is non-linear and has a timer to promote efficiency, Hypnospace Outlaw is extremely open-ended, allowing for multiple solutions to problems along with an endless amount of side content, and Ace Attorney… honestly doesn’t try to get over these problems. Oh well.
I think that those two questions are a reason OneShot appealed to me in the first place, @DeemonAndGame’s recommendation non-withstanding. I wanted to play it someday, because if you only get one shot at a game, you kinda bypass those two questions. It’s a novel concept, and in the 2014 version you couldn’t even close the window! You can’t really sell a game like that easily though, so it’s understandable that the 2016 version made some changes.
It’s about cat-looking kid named Niko who’s basically isekai’d into some world where the sun is a lightbulb. Niko, along with the help of god (the player), has to bring the lightbulb to a tower to restore the sun, which previously went out. All of this was prophesized, of course. You meet a lot of decently likeable characters who have some fairly humourous moments as you trek through the world trying to get to the tower. Kind of a nitpick, but I think it’s a bit odd that considering how important Niko is to the fate of the world, very few people seem to care about actually helping him. Like yeah, some people are pretty nihilistic and think the world is going to end even if the sun comes back, but plenty still have hope. Someone would probably try and take the sun and get a ransom for it or something. Actually, maybe that would be a bad plan, because when some robot tries to stop Niko because he doesn’t have a library card, no one seems to care. Are they ok with the world dying because the messiah didn’t have a library card? Why can’t Niko just ignore the robot? They’re specifically programmed to not hurt people.
I guess the reason is that that would be a very boring game if everything was handed to you. It’s not like the gameplay here is exhilarating or fast-paced anyway, but it is good, albeit very simple. You can select items to interact with overworld objects and combine items to make new ones. I do think it’s a bit easy to just trial-and-error item combining, as there’s no punishment for it, but that’s not a big deal. For me personally, I never really needed to. Progression was usually very straightforward, barring some very major exceptions I will get to. You just go until you hit a roadblock, explore to find items, interact with overworld objects and combine in ways that are logical, and then keep going. It’s less frustrating than a game like, let’s say, Ace Attorney, but it also creates few “Aha!” moments, which is something Ace Attorney excels at.
Well, there are the ‘very major exceptions’ I mentioned earlier, which are far more interesting and novel. Games nowadays are meta. But OneShot is like,
In terms of visuals, the game does the job. They’re fine, sometimes looking rather good, but I don’t think they’re great, and the repetition of some visuals kind of hurts the exploration. A lot of locations kind of just blend in, so remembering where you have and haven’t been is occasionally tricky. The music, while limited, is good.
Generally, I'd say the game was really good, but aside from the meta puzzle stuff, I wouldn’t describe anything as particularly great. Most of the characters are cool, but not great (Although I did like the player interactions with Niko quite a bit). The normal puzzles are good enough, but not great. And honestly, while me nitpicking the plot was mostly just for comedic effect, it did make me realize the plot isn’t really active at all. You could probably cut out the middle area of the game, the Glen, and not lose anything in terms of actual events. That aside, the game's story is pretty repetitive. Maybe Niko really should’ve been kidnapped by some guy or something. Maybe at least one character should’ve tried to accompany Niko to some extent.
Maybe I’m being too harsh though. That’s not to say I don’t think those criticisms aren’t warranted, but if you instead look at the game as a story meant to take place over two playthroughs, this isn’t as big of a deal, because the second playthrough is more active in general. One could easily see the ending of the first playthrough as a sort of ‘second act low point’ for a greater story which includes two playthroughs. By extension, the first playthrough being formulaic and could be seen as an attempt to build expectations, which a second playthrough subverts. Really, that’s discussion of how we should critique games goes far beyond this review, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that there is a second playthrough in the first place, considering the game keeps telling you that ‘you only get one shot’. So uh… I guess the game doesn’t entirely bypass those two questions I mentioned earlier, huh? Well, while you can replay the game after getting the ‘good ending’, there are some permanent consequences regardless. It’s a fine consolation prize, but I honestly would’ve preferred just not being allowed to play the game again, as counter intuitive as that sounds. Still, there is a sense of finality to it all that I’m glad the game leaned into.
My score is 7/10, close to an 8. I was harsh on it for sure, but in the end it did most of what it set out to do. It’s a game where most of it is good and a few elements are great. I’d recommend it to anyone, although it's probably a game best experienced on PC.
When I was a kid, I subscribed to this youtube channel that made covers of my favorite Cave Story songs. I also was super into Rom Hacks of games and Cave Story mods too. It turned out that these two things would one day combine. NightMargin was that channel, and Michael Shirt made WTF Story. It's no wonder that OneShot became my favorite game of all time.
I genuinely don't think there are any other games out there that can tell a story like OneShot. I can't even write a proper review without spoiling 90% of the game but, thank you. Thank you OneShot.
Having this game call me Dylan is making me very glad I had changed that back to my Switch profile name from "DogInAHotCar"
This review contains spoilers
i don't feel great about essentially coming back to this game and going "this kind of sucks" because i really do think it's important we support indie developers worldwide and i would rather people fight against the trends of the aaa sphere of gaming and attempt to be lofty and creative and experimental. but... with that said, yeah, i think oneshot's attempts at metafictional elements of gameplay come at the expense of staying power, strong writing, memorable characters, or... any form of purpose. this is a game i think clearly focusing on the gimmick for the sake of the gimmick before worrying about much of anything else.
there ultimately isn't any reason for this game to dive into a metafictional narrative between a player "character", a sentient a.i. and niko, and it doesn't do anything to solidify an authentic relationship between those 3 parties. meta rpgmaker titles were a dime a dozen at the time, and between its 2010s-quirky-cutesy humor and prose and the general "subversive" attempts at manipulating that tone into something moodier and darker (which i will give credit, it manages to pull off every once in a while when it's not shoving a misguided narrative at you or attempting to make you feel something for a character you've shared a dozen lines of text with) there isn't really anything... special about oneshot? there isn't much that it does that i haven't seen plenty of other rpgmaker titles do, and most of which came years and years before oneshot's completion.
if the idea of the meta aspects was to be purely gameplay, then fine, but even that aspect half-asses the execution: look for example at the moment near the end of the first playthrough in which the game goes "oh if ONLY there was SOME WAY we could change this outcome.... oh... if only you could CHECK YOUR DESKTOP AND GO TO THE DOCUMENTS FOLDER, so to speak.... oh... sigh..." - where is the intrigue? where is the meta puzzle solving? wouldn't the puzzle be to figure out how to fix that on your own? to have the player explore in a manner similar to niko? but clearly the game doesn't want you to enjoy the process of playing it, as niko literally turns to the player and essentially goes "but WHY would someone MAKE a fictional world like this? WHY????". and then there's the matter of making a player stand-in who allegedly exists outside of the game but still needs to play by the game's rules (i.e. selecting yes or no answers or a select amount of options with which to interact with niko) even though the entire point is that niko and the player themselves can literally move through the "walls" of the .exe's window. it's a magic trick show for people who don't understand the gimmicks and how they work... not much else of substance beyond that.
if the cutesy aesthetic and "wholesome smol bean!!!" writing don't click with you, i'm sorry but i don't think there's a lot going on here. let alone the fact that the entire concept of the original game, that you have one shot to complete it, is completely taken away by its tacked on true ending route, for the sake of an underwhelming and misguided narrative that has no purpose to incorporate meta aspects but does what oneshot does best - rides on the coattails of the trends of the time without stopping to think of why it's doing it.
there ultimately isn't any reason for this game to dive into a metafictional narrative between a player "character", a sentient a.i. and niko, and it doesn't do anything to solidify an authentic relationship between those 3 parties. meta rpgmaker titles were a dime a dozen at the time, and between its 2010s-quirky-cutesy humor and prose and the general "subversive" attempts at manipulating that tone into something moodier and darker (which i will give credit, it manages to pull off every once in a while when it's not shoving a misguided narrative at you or attempting to make you feel something for a character you've shared a dozen lines of text with) there isn't really anything... special about oneshot? there isn't much that it does that i haven't seen plenty of other rpgmaker titles do, and most of which came years and years before oneshot's completion.
if the idea of the meta aspects was to be purely gameplay, then fine, but even that aspect half-asses the execution: look for example at the moment near the end of the first playthrough in which the game goes "oh if ONLY there was SOME WAY we could change this outcome.... oh... if only you could CHECK YOUR DESKTOP AND GO TO THE DOCUMENTS FOLDER, so to speak.... oh... sigh..." - where is the intrigue? where is the meta puzzle solving? wouldn't the puzzle be to figure out how to fix that on your own? to have the player explore in a manner similar to niko? but clearly the game doesn't want you to enjoy the process of playing it, as niko literally turns to the player and essentially goes "but WHY would someone MAKE a fictional world like this? WHY????". and then there's the matter of making a player stand-in who allegedly exists outside of the game but still needs to play by the game's rules (i.e. selecting yes or no answers or a select amount of options with which to interact with niko) even though the entire point is that niko and the player themselves can literally move through the "walls" of the .exe's window. it's a magic trick show for people who don't understand the gimmicks and how they work... not much else of substance beyond that.
if the cutesy aesthetic and "wholesome smol bean!!!" writing don't click with you, i'm sorry but i don't think there's a lot going on here. let alone the fact that the entire concept of the original game, that you have one shot to complete it, is completely taken away by its tacked on true ending route, for the sake of an underwhelming and misguided narrative that has no purpose to incorporate meta aspects but does what oneshot does best - rides on the coattails of the trends of the time without stopping to think of why it's doing it.
We don't deserve Niko.
One of those games that leave you feeling a sense of loss and emptiness once finished.
Oneshot foi um dos poucos jogos que me fez sentir o que a protagonista sente, a tristeza, o medo, as preocupações
E isso já é o suficiente pra perceber o quão bem produzida é essa história.
De início o jogo lhe mostra algo simples, mas ao decorrer dele você pode ver o quão complexo o jogo é.
Está recomendado.
E isso já é o suficiente pra perceber o quão bem produzida é essa história.
De início o jogo lhe mostra algo simples, mas ao decorrer dele você pode ver o quão complexo o jogo é.
Está recomendado.
One of the most insane, yet purposeful, interesting, and empathetic meta narratives I’ve ever experienced.
Despite the game being a bit sluggish and laborious at times, OneShot is ironically able to cover a wide variety of themes in it’s short run time. Those of which not only serve to create surprisingly impactful emotional/intellectual conflicts in the players brain, but to also deliver an impressive commentary on our humanity and its relationship with fictional narratives.
Although nothing in the game, nothing in fiction may be real, we are capable of giving it life through our emotions and memories. We live through fiction, and fiction lives through us.
Despite the game being a bit sluggish and laborious at times, OneShot is ironically able to cover a wide variety of themes in it’s short run time. Those of which not only serve to create surprisingly impactful emotional/intellectual conflicts in the players brain, but to also deliver an impressive commentary on our humanity and its relationship with fictional narratives.
Although nothing in the game, nothing in fiction may be real, we are capable of giving it life through our emotions and memories. We live through fiction, and fiction lives through us.
OneShot was definitely worse than I expected going into it. The main story is quite interesting, and the 4th-wall breaks are something I've never seen any other videogame do. But, the gameplay is just such a drag to me. This can mainly be attributed to plain and indiscriminable areas that are annoying to navigate, as well as 'hidden' checkpoints the player must reach before being able to progress. What I mean by this, is having to talk to specific characters before being able to obtain certain items or perform certain actions. It makes the game longer than it should be.
In addition, one of the 4th-wall breaks did not function properly for me, which made me have to look up the solution. Kind of a bummer, since that is the main interesting mechanic of the game.
I don't think OneShot is a bad game at all, it just wasn't as capturing as I would have hoped.
In addition, one of the 4th-wall breaks did not function properly for me, which made me have to look up the solution. Kind of a bummer, since that is the main interesting mechanic of the game.
I don't think OneShot is a bad game at all, it just wasn't as capturing as I would have hoped.
🎮 Platform: PC
⌚ Time to finish - 5h
🏆Trophy completion - 54% - 2 trophies bugged out so I should be more like 75%
🤬Difficulty - Hard! Would have taken HOURS more had I not used a guide. I was stuck so much and the game gives very little clues and no map. I was always lost. I hate being lost in games...
🌄Graphics – fine its pixel art.
🌦 Atmosphere/Music – Enjoyed the music and the characters in game saying quirky things. The game has a unique atmosphere as it breaks the "4th wall".
📚 Main Story / Characters – Story was typical world ending, robots becoming sentient, main char on a save the world mission... sorry did not connect.... but there are some interesting 4th wall things they do that are completely atypical. Those were pretty cool. Really the game is about experiencing those. I wish I wasn't always so lost that it took forever to get to those moments.
🤺 Combat – none
🧭 Side Activities / Exploration – buggy. I did not get 2 trophies that i did.
🚗 Movement/Physics – fine
📣 Voice acting – none
🥇 Best thing about the game - 4th wall things they do. Haven't seen other games do it.
👎 Worst thing about the game - being lost and not enough clues given. For a puzzle, exploration game, they lack some basic things to point you in the right direction.
💡Final Thoughts:
I guess if you enjoy being lost and trial and error on what to do next, you are probably fine with this game. If you hate being lost, this game is not for you. I only gave it a 2 stars because I used a guide to get me past. If I did not use a guide this would have been a 1 star game.
I think people are Overweighting the 4th wall stuff, and the emotional connection you build to the main character Niko, which does happen. IMO game play itself is not very interesting, run around in circles everywhere, trial and error things, run around some more and hope story moves forward since you have no CLUE what to do next. Sure sometimes subtle cues are given but its not enough. The map is dark a lot so its hard to see where you are going.
I can't help think if this game should have been made the way Limbo/Inside were made, it would have been a much better way to tell their story. I get RPG maker probably has some limitations.
⌚ Time to finish - 5h
🏆Trophy completion - 54% - 2 trophies bugged out so I should be more like 75%
🤬Difficulty - Hard! Would have taken HOURS more had I not used a guide. I was stuck so much and the game gives very little clues and no map. I was always lost. I hate being lost in games...
🌄Graphics – fine its pixel art.
🌦 Atmosphere/Music – Enjoyed the music and the characters in game saying quirky things. The game has a unique atmosphere as it breaks the "4th wall".
📚 Main Story / Characters – Story was typical world ending, robots becoming sentient, main char on a save the world mission... sorry did not connect.... but there are some interesting 4th wall things they do that are completely atypical. Those were pretty cool. Really the game is about experiencing those. I wish I wasn't always so lost that it took forever to get to those moments.
🤺 Combat – none
🧭 Side Activities / Exploration – buggy. I did not get 2 trophies that i did.
🚗 Movement/Physics – fine
📣 Voice acting – none
🥇 Best thing about the game - 4th wall things they do. Haven't seen other games do it.
👎 Worst thing about the game - being lost and not enough clues given. For a puzzle, exploration game, they lack some basic things to point you in the right direction.
💡Final Thoughts:
I guess if you enjoy being lost and trial and error on what to do next, you are probably fine with this game. If you hate being lost, this game is not for you. I only gave it a 2 stars because I used a guide to get me past. If I did not use a guide this would have been a 1 star game.
I think people are Overweighting the 4th wall stuff, and the emotional connection you build to the main character Niko, which does happen. IMO game play itself is not very interesting, run around in circles everywhere, trial and error things, run around some more and hope story moves forward since you have no CLUE what to do next. Sure sometimes subtle cues are given but its not enough. The map is dark a lot so its hard to see where you are going.
I can't help think if this game should have been made the way Limbo/Inside were made, it would have been a much better way to tell their story. I get RPG maker probably has some limitations.
I thought this was a basketball game.
Yeah, it's good. I love the characters and the little world it builds for itself. There's a very somber yet comforting feel to it all, especially the Refuge, my favorite part of the game. I also found that it handles its metanarrative elements with much more tact and grace than other similar indie games of the time, such as, say, Stanley Parable with its pompousness, or DDLC with its banality and overall shit quality. I'm glad to find something that gets these things right every once in a while, at least in my own eyes.
Knocked this out in roughly 5 hours total while waiting for my Twitter account to get unlocked. Not a long game at all, would definitely recommend giving it a try, especially for fans of other RPG Maker titles.
Knocked this out in roughly 5 hours total while waiting for my Twitter account to get unlocked. Not a long game at all, would definitely recommend giving it a try, especially for fans of other RPG Maker titles.
awww the scrunkly🥰🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺double tap now if you'd scrunkly the when😆
Despite being called OneShot, this game has no combat at all and thus it is impossible to one-shot anything
Disgusted that blatant false advertising like this is just allowed to happen with no consequences
Disgusted that blatant false advertising like this is just allowed to happen with no consequences
a variety of notes, written whenever i can stop full body sobbing long enough to write them.
video games r the single greatest medium for this thesis statement, but it applies to all art. art is soul-powered, the machine cannot operate without a soul and the soul has nowhere to go if there is no machine. the machine must itself be made by a soul, often with the intent of capturing it, but it can only capture echoes and afterimages, only detectable with certain tools from certain angles. art in all mediums is in the ultimate superposition, completely at the mercy of its observer...yet the function of the machine is to convince the observer that its the other way around, and that THEY are at the mercy of IT
the most enriching experiences , for me, have come when awareness of this conflict have only aided the power, when i can see all the reasons i Should Not Care and how flaccid they are next to the amount that i Care Deeply. what is created is not distance but an Understanding, an effortless exchange where both i and the machine are aware of our relation to eachother, we have finally found someone who values the exchange as mutual instead of expecting the other to do all the work. many many ppl engage with art as a rule expecting it to simply whir away while they sit there and passively observe it, never letting their soul interact with it, never extending understanding to its limitations, never allowing it to just Be without explaining itself. that this is such a Particular Issue with the medium of video games has roots in a lot of causes, but i do not believe those causes are anything inherent to the medium itself. games, more then any other medium potentially, CAN demand your soul, and in this environment, it might be a moral imperative that they do
undertale is such an unbelievably trite line of comparison that i trust that u trust me that i wouldnt bring it up without good reason...aside from the fact that its rly an origin and anchoring point for my first exposure to a lot of these thoughts, its fascinating how two games that , timeline-wise, rly cant have Ripped Off Eachother, ended up with such similar things on their minds, and a similar drive to breathe life into what are on a surface level Barely Sketched worlds. in general i would say this is a lot more Specific and Conscious then undertale...undertale is thematically massive, filled with moments and images and rhymes that feel like they Should be straightforwardly didactic, but considering how vastly differently ppl have taken it over the years, theres plenty of testament to it being more of an associative sprawl...undertale does Not have a thesis statement, oneshot does
i might slightly prefer the sprawl approach in general...theres a lot more to chew on in a lot more directions, plus ive just had more time to live w/ undertale so its not the fairest comparison for me probably. but i also cant deny that i See my own personal undertale lens in this game, and that in fact it feels like an entire experience oriented out of that specificity, exploring and honing it to create the most power possible. thats the real reason i suppose that im bringing it up even tho its kind of embarrassing to do so...oneshot is capable of doing things Intentionally with its awareness of the player and its protagonist and the surrounding world in a way that undertale can rly only do between the lines with the player/frisk/chara interlocking triangle. the triangle is more interesting, its something ive been chewing on for years...but im not sure i feel it like i feel me and niko. and like how niko feels me and them.
one last note: one of my favorite things, esp compared to similar games, including undertale if im being honest, is its lack of moral judgement. it assumes that u are acting in good faith, are capable of having complicated feelings, and have a generally healthy ability to acknowledge that it is Just Fiction even as u are invested. the game is not interested in using yr input as a gotcha, not interested in wasting breath on those who dont engage with it in an earnest way. its not there to impress you, its not there to change your mind if you are going to be stubbornly callous towards it. it is not playing to a crowd, it is there for you. it is there for anyone who needs it. if thats you, youll know. and itll know.
video games r the single greatest medium for this thesis statement, but it applies to all art. art is soul-powered, the machine cannot operate without a soul and the soul has nowhere to go if there is no machine. the machine must itself be made by a soul, often with the intent of capturing it, but it can only capture echoes and afterimages, only detectable with certain tools from certain angles. art in all mediums is in the ultimate superposition, completely at the mercy of its observer...yet the function of the machine is to convince the observer that its the other way around, and that THEY are at the mercy of IT
the most enriching experiences , for me, have come when awareness of this conflict have only aided the power, when i can see all the reasons i Should Not Care and how flaccid they are next to the amount that i Care Deeply. what is created is not distance but an Understanding, an effortless exchange where both i and the machine are aware of our relation to eachother, we have finally found someone who values the exchange as mutual instead of expecting the other to do all the work. many many ppl engage with art as a rule expecting it to simply whir away while they sit there and passively observe it, never letting their soul interact with it, never extending understanding to its limitations, never allowing it to just Be without explaining itself. that this is such a Particular Issue with the medium of video games has roots in a lot of causes, but i do not believe those causes are anything inherent to the medium itself. games, more then any other medium potentially, CAN demand your soul, and in this environment, it might be a moral imperative that they do
undertale is such an unbelievably trite line of comparison that i trust that u trust me that i wouldnt bring it up without good reason...aside from the fact that its rly an origin and anchoring point for my first exposure to a lot of these thoughts, its fascinating how two games that , timeline-wise, rly cant have Ripped Off Eachother, ended up with such similar things on their minds, and a similar drive to breathe life into what are on a surface level Barely Sketched worlds. in general i would say this is a lot more Specific and Conscious then undertale...undertale is thematically massive, filled with moments and images and rhymes that feel like they Should be straightforwardly didactic, but considering how vastly differently ppl have taken it over the years, theres plenty of testament to it being more of an associative sprawl...undertale does Not have a thesis statement, oneshot does
i might slightly prefer the sprawl approach in general...theres a lot more to chew on in a lot more directions, plus ive just had more time to live w/ undertale so its not the fairest comparison for me probably. but i also cant deny that i See my own personal undertale lens in this game, and that in fact it feels like an entire experience oriented out of that specificity, exploring and honing it to create the most power possible. thats the real reason i suppose that im bringing it up even tho its kind of embarrassing to do so...oneshot is capable of doing things Intentionally with its awareness of the player and its protagonist and the surrounding world in a way that undertale can rly only do between the lines with the player/frisk/chara interlocking triangle. the triangle is more interesting, its something ive been chewing on for years...but im not sure i feel it like i feel me and niko. and like how niko feels me and them.
one last note: one of my favorite things, esp compared to similar games, including undertale if im being honest, is its lack of moral judgement. it assumes that u are acting in good faith, are capable of having complicated feelings, and have a generally healthy ability to acknowledge that it is Just Fiction even as u are invested. the game is not interested in using yr input as a gotcha, not interested in wasting breath on those who dont engage with it in an earnest way. its not there to impress you, its not there to change your mind if you are going to be stubbornly callous towards it. it is not playing to a crowd, it is there for you. it is there for anyone who needs it. if thats you, youll know. and itll know.
O jogo que foi mais longe com quebras da quarta parede (pelo menos dos que joguei e conheço).
Uma história BASTANTE envolvente e bota envolvente nisso. O jogo possui 3 finais, você tem praticamente uma situação parecida com o castelo invertido de Castlevania SOTN, que também não fica na cara, por isso é melhor avisar, mas da pra fazer esse final tranquilamente depois de zerar.
A gameplay é bem simples, um leva, combina e trás itens, porém você terá que fazer coisas fora do game pra avançar, muitas vezes procurando coisas pelos arquivos de seu computador.
OneShot é uma aventura de preocupação com os personagens, mas no geral é bem tranquilo.
Uma história BASTANTE envolvente e bota envolvente nisso. O jogo possui 3 finais, você tem praticamente uma situação parecida com o castelo invertido de Castlevania SOTN, que também não fica na cara, por isso é melhor avisar, mas da pra fazer esse final tranquilamente depois de zerar.
A gameplay é bem simples, um leva, combina e trás itens, porém você terá que fazer coisas fora do game pra avançar, muitas vezes procurando coisas pelos arquivos de seu computador.
OneShot é uma aventura de preocupação com os personagens, mas no geral é bem tranquilo.
Obs: se você puder, jogue esse jogo no PC pq a experiência total só o PC pode proporcionar.
Simplesmente uma obra de arte! O enredo e o universo desse jogo são coisas de outro mundo e os personagens são muito legais, principalmente a Niko. Esse jogo foi feito para ser jogado 2 vezes e isso só enriquece ainda mais a história. O jeito que esse jogo quebra a quarta parede e mexe no seu computador é INCRÍVEL!!! Seja criando pastas, modificando aspectos no seu PC, você tendo que abrir arquivos que o jogo gera para progredir na sua missão, e o jogo interage com você jogador e sabe da sua existência como jogador.
ESSE JOGO É ABSOLUTO!!! 10/10 E EU SUPER RECOMENDO JOGAR ESSA PÉROLA!!!
Obs: levei 7h pra zerar na 1° vez e 4h na 2° vez
Simplesmente uma obra de arte! O enredo e o universo desse jogo são coisas de outro mundo e os personagens são muito legais, principalmente a Niko. Esse jogo foi feito para ser jogado 2 vezes e isso só enriquece ainda mais a história. O jeito que esse jogo quebra a quarta parede e mexe no seu computador é INCRÍVEL!!! Seja criando pastas, modificando aspectos no seu PC, você tendo que abrir arquivos que o jogo gera para progredir na sua missão, e o jogo interage com você jogador e sabe da sua existência como jogador.
ESSE JOGO É ABSOLUTO!!! 10/10 E EU SUPER RECOMENDO JOGAR ESSA PÉROLA!!!
Obs: levei 7h pra zerar na 1° vez e 4h na 2° vez
What's more to say about OneShot? It's a cute rpgmaker game guiding a young cat-person, Niko, through a dying world and also the computer program talks to you. Very pretty game, the art and soundtrack creates some pretty potent vibes, and all the characters are likable. The game kind of hinges on you caring about Niko and that is definitely easy enough to do.
There is only one, maybe two puzzles that can legitamately give pause on how to solve, most of the time the puzzles are more about finding the keys than figuring out any mechanism or what not. You'll pick up a screwdriver at one place, "ah I'll have to figure out what to do with this", then not too far you'll find a camera and the item description is all like "A broken camera with a large submissive and unscrewable lens". All of this is completely fine tho, I did get a bit stumped at one point because it took me a bit long to find the bathroom in one area, that's my bad I think tho.
There's one aspect that I was wondering how to talk about but I ended up coming across the steam page (pretty sure I got the game off Itch) and found that they pretty much did it for me "CONTENT WARNING Although OneShot is not a horror game in the traditional sense, parts of the game may induce some paranoia. Please proceed with caution." Basically if you're a bitch like me that gets massively stressed over the implication that something might happen, then yeah like I said before, this game creates some potent vibes and stress-inducing dread is definitely one of them.
Can't say that all of its themes are executed perfectly but such is the case with many works, it's all good for the most part anyway. Overall it's a pretty lovely game that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Thanks to XenonXV for recommending me this game, it was sitting on my hard-drive for about over a year now
There is only one, maybe two puzzles that can legitamately give pause on how to solve, most of the time the puzzles are more about finding the keys than figuring out any mechanism or what not. You'll pick up a screwdriver at one place, "ah I'll have to figure out what to do with this", then not too far you'll find a camera and the item description is all like "A broken camera with a large submissive and unscrewable lens". All of this is completely fine tho, I did get a bit stumped at one point because it took me a bit long to find the bathroom in one area, that's my bad I think tho.
There's one aspect that I was wondering how to talk about but I ended up coming across the steam page (pretty sure I got the game off Itch) and found that they pretty much did it for me "CONTENT WARNING Although OneShot is not a horror game in the traditional sense, parts of the game may induce some paranoia. Please proceed with caution." Basically if you're a bitch like me that gets massively stressed over the implication that something might happen, then yeah like I said before, this game creates some potent vibes and stress-inducing dread is definitely one of them.
Can't say that all of its themes are executed perfectly but such is the case with many works, it's all good for the most part anyway. Overall it's a pretty lovely game that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Thanks to XenonXV for recommending me this game, it was sitting on my hard-drive for about over a year now
This review contains spoilers
Stop. Don't read anything about this game before playing it. I mean it. Don't look it up on YouTube either. If you're into indie RPGs at all, play it. Play it. From the perspective of someone who doesn't normally feel bad when she looks up a walkthrough to help solve a puzzle, I definitely regret spoiling myself on the story and more surprising elements of the game through YouTube content back in the day. Thankfully, the first end still made my heart go crazy and the entire Solstice campaign went unspoiled for me so I still got to experience some nice surprises!!
With that said, it had left me a bit conflicted at first as to what the overall message was meant to be for OneShot. At first, the game was about only having once chance to save the world or set Niko free. However, I can see as the game moved from a free one hour game to a paid 4 hour game that message had to be compromised for the sake of storytelling, pacing, and customer friendliness. I actually am glad that they decided to not keep the one shot, one chance mechanic mostly because that kind of idea is probably the worst for RPGs. If you want to build a world to get attached to and also have substantial game mechanics, it's unfortunately going to have to extend itself to a length where doing it in one sitting is not possible.
I appreciate the angle they took with the remake and Solstice, though. It gives the world so much more depth and manages to tell an awesome meta narrative that makes sense both within the game and even outside the game. I was absolutely floored when the Solstice campaign started and suddenly all these new events were happening, as if a whole extra gift was given to me ready to give me all the answers to the lingering questions I had.
Niko is thought to be the only real character in a fake world made by a machine, but that's not true. Every character you meet and every place you visit is real, and the bonds you make and the conversations you have with these characters made within the machine are real, too. And as their god, it's really up to you to decide how you want their story to play out.
I think that was always the point of OneShot, in that it was conveying to the player that their actions had real effects on its world. If the player were to carelessly close out of the window in the original game, it would mean that Niko no longer has that guiding force and they are lost forever. And just like in real life, you don't get to do over everything. In the remake, the world promises to reward the player with a touching story and a satisfying conclusion if the player shows they care enough about it. Whatever decision the player makes in the end is ultimately the "right" choice, since they're the ones in charge. There is no punishment for choosing something in OneShot, only how the player feels about how the story plays out.
In that regard, OneShot has taught me that it's okay to become attached to something I love. It's okay to love the characters and the world that I have spent my time with. They're real not because they were made by the force of nature, but by how the creator put their love and passion into making them feel like they could talk to you about anything. I only wish I had more time with everybody, especially Niko. But, just like real life, we have to move on from the time we spend together at some point. That's okay, too. Because what makes something real most of all is the memories you make with it.
With that said, it had left me a bit conflicted at first as to what the overall message was meant to be for OneShot. At first, the game was about only having once chance to save the world or set Niko free. However, I can see as the game moved from a free one hour game to a paid 4 hour game that message had to be compromised for the sake of storytelling, pacing, and customer friendliness. I actually am glad that they decided to not keep the one shot, one chance mechanic mostly because that kind of idea is probably the worst for RPGs. If you want to build a world to get attached to and also have substantial game mechanics, it's unfortunately going to have to extend itself to a length where doing it in one sitting is not possible.
I appreciate the angle they took with the remake and Solstice, though. It gives the world so much more depth and manages to tell an awesome meta narrative that makes sense both within the game and even outside the game. I was absolutely floored when the Solstice campaign started and suddenly all these new events were happening, as if a whole extra gift was given to me ready to give me all the answers to the lingering questions I had.
Niko is thought to be the only real character in a fake world made by a machine, but that's not true. Every character you meet and every place you visit is real, and the bonds you make and the conversations you have with these characters made within the machine are real, too. And as their god, it's really up to you to decide how you want their story to play out.
I think that was always the point of OneShot, in that it was conveying to the player that their actions had real effects on its world. If the player were to carelessly close out of the window in the original game, it would mean that Niko no longer has that guiding force and they are lost forever. And just like in real life, you don't get to do over everything. In the remake, the world promises to reward the player with a touching story and a satisfying conclusion if the player shows they care enough about it. Whatever decision the player makes in the end is ultimately the "right" choice, since they're the ones in charge. There is no punishment for choosing something in OneShot, only how the player feels about how the story plays out.
In that regard, OneShot has taught me that it's okay to become attached to something I love. It's okay to love the characters and the world that I have spent my time with. They're real not because they were made by the force of nature, but by how the creator put their love and passion into making them feel like they could talk to you about anything. I only wish I had more time with everybody, especially Niko. But, just like real life, we have to move on from the time we spend together at some point. That's okay, too. Because what makes something real most of all is the memories you make with it.
I think the existentialism of this is so bittersweet and powerful. It runs a risk of stomping on and gutting the dichotomy of its original ending with a new route, and decidedly doesn’t through recontextualizing the game in its entirety. It’s not a difficult puzzle game, but the way that they’re structured is so clever, and the meta devices are done as a way of framing the world and story. I genuinely don’t want to spoil anything. This will be on the brain for a while. So much is so thought out and intricate, and I absolutely cannot imagine going to this after the original. It’s so bold to tamper with your ending, and yet, this feels so much more rigid and thought out than most other “true” or “golden” endings which are often retrofitted to a story.
A darling of the RPG-maker adventure genre, OneShot does an outstanding job building its somber tone through its setting and art direction, while exploring some unique concepts you don't see in many other games. I recommend playing this one in complete darkness on a CRT monitor, the vibes are just sublime.
really interesting game that I didn't personally vibe with all that much, but it did surprise me a handful of times in pleasant ways.
This game is way too short, yet at the same time just right in length... unlike most RPG maker games, Oneshot is a game without combat, without any real threats to worry about, and it's a game without the attention it deserves. Put aside roughly 5 hours of your day, if it even takes that long, and just experience this masterpiece. In the end, you'll only wish it never ended at all.
EU TE AMO NIKO, simplesmente perfeito, me apeguei tanto a esse jogo que no final chorei, a quebra de quarta parede do jogo é um dos bagulho mais genial que já vi num game, usar isso pra puzzles é incrível.
Os personagens são maravilhosos, literalmente todos são perfeitos não tem um que eu não amei. Os cenários, as musicas, a historia é TAO BEM FEITO e da pra ver o carinho em cada coisa do game que isso faz esse ser um dos melhores jogos que já joguei.
uma obra prima.
Os personagens são maravilhosos, literalmente todos são perfeitos não tem um que eu não amei. Os cenários, as musicas, a historia é TAO BEM FEITO e da pra ver o carinho em cada coisa do game que isso faz esse ser um dos melhores jogos que já joguei.
uma obra prima.
A cute, very earnest meta-adventure game that mostly serves to provide an unneeded second act to the original release. I'm not sure how much of my dislike of this version stems from having played the freeware version first (which I enjoyed quite a bit), but the additions made here to fill in the ambiguous world building almost universally soured me on what initially felt remarkably restrained. There's a charm to the original's RPGmaker hacking that is transformed in the full release into an overwrought but ultimately thin meditation on author/reader relationships (please, stop reading Homestuck and pick up some Barbara Johnson).
I'm still positive on the art and characters, and a few of the later deconstructions are very impressive on a technical level, but this is going to be one of my new go to examples for why everyone needs an editor.
I'm still positive on the art and characters, and a few of the later deconstructions are very impressive on a technical level, but this is going to be one of my new go to examples for why everyone needs an editor.