ENG: We control a nameless user navigating through diverse and extravagant virtual worlds. Similar to Jazzpunk, but not tonally, of course.

Anyway, as tools that will help us to advance through these places, we will have at our disposal:

- A "liker" with which we can give likes to ads.

- A katana to get rid of annoying pop-ups that block our way.

- A credit card to consume to your heart's content.

- A cursor to swing between links.

- A camera to get even more likes.

- And finally, a sort of compass that acts as a checkpoint.

Strange reflections of an internet that never existed. Conscious parody or senseless glorification? I think the former. Browsing these spaces feels genuine. With quirky characters we are told a simple but effective story.

ESP: Controlamos a un usuario sin nombre navegando por diversos y extravagantes mundos virtuales. Similar a Jazzpunk, no tonalmente, eso sí. Acá todo tiene tintes retro y vaporwave.

De cualquier modo, como herramientas que nos ayudaran a avanzar por estos lugares, tendremos a nuestra disposición:

- Un "liker" con el que podremos dar likes a anuncios.

- Una katana para deshacernos de las molestas ventanas emergentes que nos bloquean el paso.

- Una tarjeta de crédito para consumir hasta el hartazgo.

- Un cursor para balancearse entre los enlaces.

- Una cámara de fotos para ganar aún más likes.

- Y por último, una suerte de brújula que actúa como checkpoint.

Extraños reflejos de un internet que nunca existió. ¿Parodia consciente o ensalzamiento insensato? Creo lo primero. Navegar por estos espacios se siente genuino. Con unos personajes estrafalarios se nos cuenta una historia simple pero eficaz.

Didn't like the final act all that much, which is a bummer because of how fun and relaxing the main 5 levels are. I think there's something really special here, with some fun references and the aesthetic sensibilities of a typical second life server (in a good way). If you love puzzle platformers and the aesthetic speaks to you then I certainly recommend this one, just know that it didn't fully stick the landing in my opinion.

also, if I were to write a one sentence meme review about this it'd say
"Indie devs try not to have secret horror elements in their game challenge (VERY HARD)"

Nice mix of walking sim and puzzle-solving with vaporwave A E S T H E T I C S. The game takes place in NATEM, a Second Life-esque virtual world. Gameplay is mainly about collecting likes that will open the new areas, but there are also quests given by various "users". These quests require you to solve puzzles with the help of your tools, such as a credit card or katana. There are mildly annoying bugs in the game, but they don't cause you to start the game from the beginning, so they're usually bearable (at least in my case).

This game is rather strange to quantify, because, on the one hand, I found Broken Reality to be a rather mesmerizing experience, chock full of abstract beauty while wallowing within the deepest pits of irony that Vaporwave is synonymous with, but on the other hand, it's a deeply frustrating experience of meaningless checklists stretched out far past its welcome.

To note, I reached the final level of Broken Reality before I decided to just shelf the game. I spent around 7 hours in the game, going about the multitude of quests and scavenger hunts for "likes" and so forth, but I was soft-locked at the very end of the game, requiring me to go through what would seem to be another several hours of backtracking to see the end credits; frankly, I didn't have the patience to do that. Out of my own impatience, I just went ahead and looked up the ending online, gathered the story bits from that, and called my experience with this game finished. Ultimately, I find it a shame I called it quits with the game, but it helms a multitude of pacing issues that severely hamper the experience.

Broken Reality is ultimately a simple game mashing up first-person exploration titles with a general Metroid-Vania flavor, all doused within the ugly yet extremely charming aesthetics of Vaporwave, and if that sales pitch sounds like something you'd be interested in, then you'll definitely find something enjoyable about the game. I know I found my fair share of fun with it in uncovering the strange, twisted secrets of this virtual space gone mostly abandoned/corrupt, but the overall pacing of the game didn't keep me invested throughout the experience; several moments of the game drag on for far longer than they should, and that's a shame considering the talent put into this project, however, an hour or two shaved off the game would've greatly impacted the game for the better.

I'm torn on Broken Reality; ultimately, I'd recommend it, especially for those fascinated by internet culture, but I'd just be aware of the sluggish pace come the final hours of the game; if you can handle that, you'll probably have a blast.

This game deserves a much greater analysis in the future, one I'll have to do soon.

Broken Reality is a fascinating and mesmerizing romp through a decaying internet. I love these small indie games that are weird first person adventure games. They are usually VERY endearing to me, and this one even has insane visuals to go with it. Probably 2nd favourite game style wise (behind Lego Island).

There is also the bonus of this being so heavily Vaporwave inspired. I was super heavy into that shit in high school so this is just gonna hit me harder. Getting a bunch of songs from real vaporwave artists just adds to it. This also has probably one of my favourite gaming musical experiences with the very last sequence in this game.