Amei esse jogo. Conflito social rico, uma crítica pertinente a gig economy, é apenas um grande exemplar da mais fina arte. Diria até terapêutico que ele me ajudou muito a repensar certos relacionamentos.
This review contains spoilers
Als jemand, der um der Einsamkeit zu entschwinden in die Stadt gezogen ist, wo einige meiner Freunde wohnten, hat das Spiel für mich eine sehr persönliche Note getroffen. Glücklicherweise war ich weder auf materieller noch auf emotionaler Ebene so abhängig von dem Schulfreund, zu dem ich gezogen bin, wie Lina in dem Spiel von Savy ist, aber ich konnte mich dadurch sehr gut in Linas Perspektive hineinversetzen.
Das Spiel beginnt damit, dass Lina als Taxifahrerin in die Großstadt zieht, da sie zu ihrer Kindheitsfreundin Savy zieht. Lina wünscht sich innig wieder das selbe Verhältnis zu Savy zu haben, wie früher. Als Savy aber direkt nach ihrem Wiedersehen verschwindet wird Lina mit der Frage konfrontiert, wie eng die Freundschaft zwischen den beiden wirklich ist, und wie gut sie Savy tatsächlich kennt. Bei der Arbeit als Taxifahrerin begegnet man verschiedenen Menschen und entdeckt dabei mehr über Savy und die aktuelle Situation.
Das Spiel ist ganz gut geschrieben, und mir persönlich gefällt es sehr, dass der emotionale Zustand die Antwortmöglichkeiten limitiert, auch wenn ich mir vorstellen kann, dass das vielen Spielern nicht gefällt. Ich wette es würde weitaus weniger stören, wenn einem die nicht verfügbaren Antworten nicht gezeigt werden. Ich persönlich finde aber, dass in narrativen Spielen viel zu selten die Antwortmöglichkeiten als Mittel der Informationsvermittlung verwendet werden und ich fand es interessant zu sehen, was Lina hätte sagen können, wenn sie in anderer Stimmung wäre.
Die Gesichter der Charaktere (vor allem von Savy - auch wenn das vielleicht Absicht war) fand ich etwas zu steif, damit hätte man mehr Emotionen vermitteln können.
Das Finale war etwas komisch, da man für Verhalten beurteilt wurde, welches man teilweise nicht aus Überzeugung gemacht hat, sondern um vom Fahrer eine gute Bewertung zu kriegen.
Ich kann sagen, dass ich mehr versucht habe mich mit Savy zu verstehen, als vernünftig war, da sich das aus meiner Perspektive für Lina natürlich anfühlte. Für andere Spieler ist Savy wahrscheinlich eine offensichtliche Narzisstin, von der man sich trennen muss. Dem stimme ich zu, allerdings ist das eine Realität, die Lina (zumindest in meinem Spieldurchlauf) nicht war haben möchte, was bei meinem Ende zu einer wunderbaren Tragödie führte.
Das Spiel beginnt damit, dass Lina als Taxifahrerin in die Großstadt zieht, da sie zu ihrer Kindheitsfreundin Savy zieht. Lina wünscht sich innig wieder das selbe Verhältnis zu Savy zu haben, wie früher. Als Savy aber direkt nach ihrem Wiedersehen verschwindet wird Lina mit der Frage konfrontiert, wie eng die Freundschaft zwischen den beiden wirklich ist, und wie gut sie Savy tatsächlich kennt. Bei der Arbeit als Taxifahrerin begegnet man verschiedenen Menschen und entdeckt dabei mehr über Savy und die aktuelle Situation.
Das Spiel ist ganz gut geschrieben, und mir persönlich gefällt es sehr, dass der emotionale Zustand die Antwortmöglichkeiten limitiert, auch wenn ich mir vorstellen kann, dass das vielen Spielern nicht gefällt. Ich wette es würde weitaus weniger stören, wenn einem die nicht verfügbaren Antworten nicht gezeigt werden. Ich persönlich finde aber, dass in narrativen Spielen viel zu selten die Antwortmöglichkeiten als Mittel der Informationsvermittlung verwendet werden und ich fand es interessant zu sehen, was Lina hätte sagen können, wenn sie in anderer Stimmung wäre.
Die Gesichter der Charaktere (vor allem von Savy - auch wenn das vielleicht Absicht war) fand ich etwas zu steif, damit hätte man mehr Emotionen vermitteln können.
Das Finale war etwas komisch, da man für Verhalten beurteilt wurde, welches man teilweise nicht aus Überzeugung gemacht hat, sondern um vom Fahrer eine gute Bewertung zu kriegen.
Ich kann sagen, dass ich mehr versucht habe mich mit Savy zu verstehen, als vernünftig war, da sich das aus meiner Perspektive für Lina natürlich anfühlte. Für andere Spieler ist Savy wahrscheinlich eine offensichtliche Narzisstin, von der man sich trennen muss. Dem stimme ich zu, allerdings ist das eine Realität, die Lina (zumindest in meinem Spieldurchlauf) nicht war haben möchte, was bei meinem Ende zu einer wunderbaren Tragödie führte.
style wasnt too enjoyable for me, the mood bracelet was annoying when it locked certain dialogue and pretty much forced me to bad choices
Really great VN, with beautiful animated graphics and a great story/likable characters.
Buen juego conversacional con rejugabilidad si quieres conocer a los diferentes pasajeros. Las animaciones faciales son un poco raras, y el final me parece realmente apresurado, pero es de los mejores juegos de taxi que he jugado (si, hay unos pocos).
The premisse was great and I did have fun, but... Hmm... Yeah.
I think I accidentally bumblefucked into the best ending? What the hell. At least, it felt like the best to me… I guess there’s probably an ending where you remain friends with a Certain Someone but that doesn’t actually feel like a good end to me. Quite the opposite, really! Fuck that person, she sucks ass!
It tools me a while to finish this one, because it was perhaps a touch on the slow side and you couldn’t actually predict who’d be interesting or not. Also I started the demo ages ago and forgot about pretty much everything but the basic setup. But I did kind of like that I felt rewarded for doing what felt right to me, you know? The emotions mechanics didn’t always let you but it mostly felt pretty good. Some of the clients were entertaining and even if it didn’t feel super original the setting was kinda neat. It’s that neat future sci-fi, you know? I also dug how it looked.
I do hope things turned out well for Gideon… I figure if I kept going for her I might’ve gotten a Route Ending, but while I came away with an alright impression of the game I’m not sure if I feel compelled to play again. I liked the ending I got, but the presentation kind of failed the magnitude of the actual events, I think. Maybe that’s the point, though…. I think the interpersonal relationships felt like the Important Part, you know? It’s the human element. And maybe a little Quantum Witchcraft.
It tools me a while to finish this one, because it was perhaps a touch on the slow side and you couldn’t actually predict who’d be interesting or not. Also I started the demo ages ago and forgot about pretty much everything but the basic setup. But I did kind of like that I felt rewarded for doing what felt right to me, you know? The emotions mechanics didn’t always let you but it mostly felt pretty good. Some of the clients were entertaining and even if it didn’t feel super original the setting was kinda neat. It’s that neat future sci-fi, you know? I also dug how it looked.
I do hope things turned out well for Gideon… I figure if I kept going for her I might’ve gotten a Route Ending, but while I came away with an alright impression of the game I’m not sure if I feel compelled to play again. I liked the ending I got, but the presentation kind of failed the magnitude of the actual events, I think. Maybe that’s the point, though…. I think the interpersonal relationships felt like the Important Part, you know? It’s the human element. And maybe a little Quantum Witchcraft.
i loved this and think more people should play it, but I was frustrated that it was so hard to get a good ending.
A nice little anti-corpo cab game, but the story ultimately doesn't feel too cohesive. Conversations get muddled and your emotions literally block you off from choices even when it doesn't feel right.
P.S. Savy sucked
P.S. Savy sucked
Neocab é um jogo Visual Novel que te põe na pele de uma das únicas motorista de aplicativo humana num futuro distópico, que precisa pegar passageiros e interagir (ou não) com eles. O jogo tinha um potencial imenso para ser um grande contador de histórias mas fracassa colocando em foco um drama menos interessante e obrigando o jogador a ignorar o arco mega estruturado dos passageiros (que se repetem ao longo da jogatina).
Apesar disso apresenta uma ótima e inovadora mecânica de gerenciar a energia emocional da protagonista (dividida em raiva, tristeza, euforia, calma) que pode inteferir na escolha dos diálogos. E uma trilha sonora que casa bem com a ambientação cyberpunk.
O jogo tem múltiplos finais, mas joguei apenas uma vez.
Em resumo, é um visual novel mediano que bota em pauta discussões atuais sobre condições de trabalho, uberização, sustentabilidade, etc. Também peca bastante em não ter endless mode pra aproveitar o restante dos diálogos como outros do estilo.
Apesar disso apresenta uma ótima e inovadora mecânica de gerenciar a energia emocional da protagonista (dividida em raiva, tristeza, euforia, calma) que pode inteferir na escolha dos diálogos. E uma trilha sonora que casa bem com a ambientação cyberpunk.
O jogo tem múltiplos finais, mas joguei apenas uma vez.
Em resumo, é um visual novel mediano que bota em pauta discussões atuais sobre condições de trabalho, uberização, sustentabilidade, etc. Também peca bastante em não ter endless mode pra aproveitar o restante dos diálogos como outros do estilo.
(log is most recent playtrough)
it's a good game with enough replay value to justify buying it when on sale. It's a very pretty game (neon colours makes brain go brrrrr) and i really enjoy the Pax/mood mechanic.
however, the gameplay can be slow and repetitive at times, even for a VN. There's enough variety in the endings, but I would've liked more tbh. Some of the dialogue is a little cringey, but thankfully nothing too painful. Overall a solid game, but wait til it goes on sale :)
it's a good game with enough replay value to justify buying it when on sale. It's a very pretty game (neon colours makes brain go brrrrr) and i really enjoy the Pax/mood mechanic.
however, the gameplay can be slow and repetitive at times, even for a VN. There's enough variety in the endings, but I would've liked more tbh. Some of the dialogue is a little cringey, but thankfully nothing too painful. Overall a solid game, but wait til it goes on sale :)
Fuck Capra
This game is truly unhinged. The plot is not even a little believable (future dystopian setting aside). The conversations dictated by emotion are an interesting idea but poorly executed. It is so frustrating not to be able to respond the way that feels appropriate for the situation. Character development in terms of the pax is done well. This game has committed many unforgivable internal monologue sins... a cheap and tired narrative device.
The writing is fine, liked the plot and the many, different characters. I would actually enjoy a game solely based on being a taxi driver and build relationships. Yet, something felt off.
Kinda reminded me of Eliza as well, but Zachtronics' game felt much better to me.
Kinda reminded me of Eliza as well, but Zachtronics' game felt much better to me.
Something about the writing just left me with a really uncomfortable feeling and I couldn't focus
no of course i don't like this game only because of the cyberpunk setting (there's also the homoerotic friendship)
Visually stunning, but still a bit too short to develop its world and all the characters you can interact with.
Neo Cab plays out exactly like a taxi simulator mixed together with a visual novel in a way that makes it both embrace the format and not fully commit to either one. The game is fully about your experiences with various customers and how each one can reflect on you. It's both an interesting game on social experiences and the choices we make.
That being said I don't think many will get the same experiences that I got from Neo Cab. There is just enough variety in the middle that makes for a tailor experienced for any given player. While both the beginning and ending are fairly similar for everyone; I just don't see that being the main impact on your experience. In some ways, Neo Cab reminds me of Spiritfarer with the way it gave you a choice between the people you transported and got to experience. While I wouldn't say it left as much an emotional response as Spiritfarer did, it did end up resonating with me.
For all it's bells, and whistles though, Neo Cab's main story really isn't something I'm too keen on. It at least sets the stage for it's players and scenario, but it just wasn't a big highlight for me. It does have an interesting message about corporations taking over people's lives and the importance of addressing toxic friendships, but I don't think this was the best story device for that. It's mainly that half way through you just don't need to engage with the main story. This led a lot of the cab rides to be a bit more interesting and engaging to me compared to whenever I had to get back into the story because I just got invested in other characters. Thankfully though, Neo Cab does have a wonderful showdown at the end of it that justifies at least having the main story to began with.
Really tho, I do like the structure of Neo Cab's middle part far more than the beginning and ending. If they are to keep making games like this, I think making it far more free roaming, and about various characters you pick up is a better format than trying to make it have an overall story to it. Neo Cab is a super interesting ride that can led to a lot of different experiences from different players, and frankly I think that is far more neat to think about. As for me, I will forever appreciate the pain worm, and the suffering it brings on to me.
That being said I don't think many will get the same experiences that I got from Neo Cab. There is just enough variety in the middle that makes for a tailor experienced for any given player. While both the beginning and ending are fairly similar for everyone; I just don't see that being the main impact on your experience. In some ways, Neo Cab reminds me of Spiritfarer with the way it gave you a choice between the people you transported and got to experience. While I wouldn't say it left as much an emotional response as Spiritfarer did, it did end up resonating with me.
For all it's bells, and whistles though, Neo Cab's main story really isn't something I'm too keen on. It at least sets the stage for it's players and scenario, but it just wasn't a big highlight for me. It does have an interesting message about corporations taking over people's lives and the importance of addressing toxic friendships, but I don't think this was the best story device for that. It's mainly that half way through you just don't need to engage with the main story. This led a lot of the cab rides to be a bit more interesting and engaging to me compared to whenever I had to get back into the story because I just got invested in other characters. Thankfully though, Neo Cab does have a wonderful showdown at the end of it that justifies at least having the main story to began with.
Really tho, I do like the structure of Neo Cab's middle part far more than the beginning and ending. If they are to keep making games like this, I think making it far more free roaming, and about various characters you pick up is a better format than trying to make it have an overall story to it. Neo Cab is a super interesting ride that can led to a lot of different experiences from different players, and frankly I think that is far more neat to think about. As for me, I will forever appreciate the pain worm, and the suffering it brings on to me.
Story is kinda slow but it’s captivating to talk to each new passenger. Learn about their live and get caught up in them to varying degrees. The emotion mechanic changing how you can react to your passengers felt a little underdeveloped. It can force you into certain responses which was annoying. It’s an interesting world that’s worth experiencing if you’re into mild dystopian narratives.
rough around the edges in a lot of places and I did have to bust out a guide at the end because I have no self-control over getting the "best" endings BUT
I loved this cozy, incisive thing that has its heart in the right place. great critique about our current cultural and tech dystopia, with added doses exploring (actual) emotional labor, toxic friendships, the ethics of existing in a hell-world, and sick vibes
really hoping I'm piloting my way through the timeline where I get to meet IRL oona. a shame she's the only one who could tell me if I were
I loved this cozy, incisive thing that has its heart in the right place. great critique about our current cultural and tech dystopia, with added doses exploring (actual) emotional labor, toxic friendships, the ethics of existing in a hell-world, and sick vibes
really hoping I'm piloting my way through the timeline where I get to meet IRL oona. a shame she's the only one who could tell me if I were
I really liked the ending I got on this. I feel like I finished this game pretty quickly but it was overall a nice chill gameplay. I usually am not crazy about games with heavy conversation focus but I was actually pretty into this and will probably try out more similar games because of it.
Mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
esperava uber simulator e recebeu critica ao capitalismo e os demasiados avanços tecnologicos
The concept of a visual novel where your character's mood is a mechanic to be managed and allows access to different dialogue choices sounds interesting, but the writing doesn't live up to its potential.
Any anti-corporate game in this day and age is going to feel a little bit obvious and heavy-handed, especially in the shadow of certain other juggernauts that really got it right, but Neo Cab felt even more surface-level than Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2 to me. Most of your customers never stop trying to sound performatively clever or witty, like the guy who desperately wants to come off as the smartest person in the room. Then there's the scheming of the all-encompassing corporation that runs the city. They've put countless taxi drivers out of work and hold huge control over society, but targeted advertising seems to be where the player draws the line.
Politics aside, there were a few moments where the player character was shocked by revelations that she should have known from previous conversations, although with a seemingly quite large number of branching paths I can forgive that for an indie game. However, the game never really convinced me as to why the protagonist has uprooted her entire life for her "best friend in the whole world", a person who is a selfish prick that you regularly tell people that you hate.
I was excited to see Neo Cab's depiction of a cyberpunk capitalist dystopia from the perspective of regular people on the ground, but in the end it had very little to say.
Any anti-corporate game in this day and age is going to feel a little bit obvious and heavy-handed, especially in the shadow of certain other juggernauts that really got it right, but Neo Cab felt even more surface-level than Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2 to me. Most of your customers never stop trying to sound performatively clever or witty, like the guy who desperately wants to come off as the smartest person in the room. Then there's the scheming of the all-encompassing corporation that runs the city. They've put countless taxi drivers out of work and hold huge control over society, but targeted advertising seems to be where the player draws the line.
Politics aside, there were a few moments where the player character was shocked by revelations that she should have known from previous conversations, although with a seemingly quite large number of branching paths I can forgive that for an indie game. However, the game never really convinced me as to why the protagonist has uprooted her entire life for her "best friend in the whole world", a person who is a selfish prick that you regularly tell people that you hate.
I was excited to see Neo Cab's depiction of a cyberpunk capitalist dystopia from the perspective of regular people on the ground, but in the end it had very little to say.
Fun idea and visuals but suffers from a boring story and subpar execution.
Un buen juego, modo tranquilo pero intrigante por saber qué ocurre en Los Ojos.
Good writing around your somewhat charming but extremely toxic friend! Ultimately the cyberpunk broader cyperbunk anti-corporation themes feel like they don't mesh super well with the toxic friendship stuff, which would have really elevated the story.
Some other notes:
-That guy calling me over, talking for an hour, and then asking for a donation for his services? God damn, motherfucker I don't care how desperate I am, fuck all the way off hack un-doctor.
-Oona demanding I have repay her is pretty rich. It's cool she teaches you to be a quantum witch if you agree, but probably a less weird way to do that, lady.
-The guy who pukes in your car and gets into libertarian youtubebro arguments about it with you feels exclusively like a guy that only exists on the internet. That being said, it is cyberpunk, so who knows.
-Final "boss fight" felt a little weird. I don't really understand why just centering yourself broke her down. I guess it's about centering yourself to avoid being emotionally manipulated, but I don't think it's framed super well.
Some other notes:
-That guy calling me over, talking for an hour, and then asking for a donation for his services? God damn, motherfucker I don't care how desperate I am, fuck all the way off hack un-doctor.
-Oona demanding I have repay her is pretty rich. It's cool she teaches you to be a quantum witch if you agree, but probably a less weird way to do that, lady.
-The guy who pukes in your car and gets into libertarian youtubebro arguments about it with you feels exclusively like a guy that only exists on the internet. That being said, it is cyberpunk, so who knows.
-Final "boss fight" felt a little weird. I don't really understand why just centering yourself broke her down. I guess it's about centering yourself to avoid being emotionally manipulated, but I don't think it's framed super well.
Not really good but also not entirely bad, there are things you might enjoy
Excellent writing. It's very human in that it's warm, hurtful, inquisitive, understanding, unpredictable, critical, honest, and has the right amount of weirdness. Pain Worms, Rise Up!
A clever concept for a game. The dialogue choices give the player some agency in the story, but the rating system and different endings imply that there are right and wrong answers. I think I got one of the lesser endings, and I wasn't clear on why or what I did wrong.