there is possibly no genre of narrative game I love more than anything that captures the beautiful, fleeting, meaningful, quirky, and chaotic portrait of communities that form in online spaces, often in spite of the businesses that created them

and for that portion of this game, I was in love. the characters, the communities, the bonds, and the style of its presentation was so cool. I would play 100 games in this format and feel refreshed by the experience, every time. I miss my friends from a long list of these communities, even if I can't remember their usernames and avatars. this captured that so well

but though I respect its intentions, I felt like the primary plot of this game was weak. without getting into spoilers, if you want to talk about a Topic, it is almost always better to center its related character as the subject, and not the object. and the glimpses we got of the object character here were so tropey, so common in a gendered way, that it was equal parts frustrating and hard to take seriously. I could go into greater detail, but I won't both because of spoilers and also because that doesn't feel great, as it's an otherwise lovely indie game with its heart in the right place

If Hypnospace Outlaw is early internet exploring then Videoverse is message board/Miiverse exploration. I loved this game as I grew up on GFAQs various anime boards, and SA. The feeling of making friends with people online back then felt different back then though that was probably due with age. This game captures a lot of feelings I felt back then even if Emmet can be a bit cringe but that's what makes it great as weren't most of us when we were younger? Earning new themes by interacting with the forums was cool and I liked all the different characters in the game.

A while before the Wii U came out, I had sort of a feverish obsession with the crumbs of information we'd get on Miiverse, it came out 2 weeks later in Europe than in the US so I'd do a lot of digging through what it was like through YouTube demonstrations.
I already had a fascination for system UIs and I missed out on Flipnote so despite how drab and boring the idea must've been to average PC forum users that already had access to these things and then some, all of this was radically new to 12 year old me that was conditioned to be wary of befriending people online.

Maybe it was the assurance Nintendo could never pull off something like this without enforcing some pretty serious rules and moderation, something which proved to not really work out.

In retrospect it's not like there hadn't been weird things going on with Swapnote either from a year prior. Tough to forget the one weird incident I had where I asked someone how to get what I found out later was a US-only feature only to get some snarky Foul Language:TM:-filled response, I don't even remember what they were because I didn't understand them, I just intuited the meaning.

I guess the point is is that experiences like this stick with you, and I do get the want to revisit this weird fragment in time where mostly sheltered Nintendo kids clash with a niche novelty social media specifically made with them in mind, I mean I was sold on that premise alone as someone who was there but quickly drifted off of it, but it thankfully runs quite a bit deeper.


The Hypnospace Outlaw comparisons have already been made and I get it, but it feels like a serious disservice to how different this feels and especially the stories they tackle.

Hypnospace sees you as an omniscient lurker with authority above all else, there is no interacting with any of the subjects you're presented with, Videoverse however wants and practically pleads you to talk to other people, it borders on emulating the feeling of being 15 and trying to play as everyone's internet therapist because that's just kind of how it was for a not insignificant amount of people.

The Miiverse nostalgia is there but it's mostly to get you comfortable until it starts dishing out moral quandaries and questions of privilege and class, the things that sheltered above middle class Nintendo kids might never think about otherwise (I know who you are, I used to be you,, at least more than I still sorta am!!)

I would never call it aggressively confrontational or bitter about any of it though, there's a gentle pace to it and it's certainly not the kind of VN to just pull a bait and switch and have that define its entire identity.
It's not interested in villainizing the protag for not understanding the wider problems hitting his friends, there's too much kindness injected into Emmett for that to be the case, at least in my playthrough.

It's very hard to not feel for him because most of what I like to think I do is help people through talking but the barriers between make it really hard to do anything substantial besides being there. It's evolved to being there financially for people too over the past 2-ish years but it's not out of any higher-class guilt on my part, most of the time I wouldn't know what to do with it otherwise.

I'm sure all of this is making this game seem like a hodgepodge lesson in people having problems, truly shocking and riveting but I just needed to get that all out of the way because above all else, the character dynamics really grabbed me. There were multiple times it would remind me of actual conversations I've had with people, times where I or someone else was down or even just talking about interests and weird tangential things, there's a realness to it that feels true to the era it's depicting and it's just really really nice that a game like this manages to balance the dorkiness and raw enthusiasm of video game fans with the emotional reality of having life happen around you and everyone else.

It brought me back to the things I really wish I could've had, to go to cons with friends that care very passionately about the same dumb things I do, warts and all, it really really made me want to draw again which I've already been having a go at for a bit but this uplifted that so much more, the experience of having a bunch of ragtag friends to make art with, original or fan-made has always been the ultimate dream and even if I didn't manage to connect with everyone in Videoverse (as it felt about as situational as it does in real life), the ones I did were amazing, and they felt very real, because it's hard not to see my own friends in them.

Really liked this. A well made game about browsing an early 2000s gaming forum that’s close to being shut down, getting to know the users there through their posts and talking with them over DMs while trying to make the community a better place. Primarily though it’s focused on a user named Vivi, an artist you gradually get to know and bond with as the game progresses

The presentation and writing really does a great job making the Shark console and Videoverse feel convincing, and the focus on how positively affecting these awkward but sincere online friendships can be was sweet

A really sweet ball of early 2000s internet cringe (and i mean that in a good sincere way) tied to a good story and fun characters

The mechanical side of things is a bit wonky in places - there were a few bugs (ie messages not coming through and locking me out of progress), a few times I'd pick choices I didn't mean to progress text, and due to its presentation, you can't really speed up text which makes things a little slow in places (especially if you reload after picking a choice you're not happy and have to redo stuff). Overall, this didn't affect my enjoyment too much though

Videoverse is a beautifully written love letter to many things, the early 00’s, the Internet and Video Games themselves.

Taking place during a fictionalised version of 2003, similar to our own, we take some control and see the eyes through the world of 15 year old Emmett or eMMe-T_T as his name presents himself online in a fashion very much of the time.
Born in England but living in Germany, Emmett spends a lot of his time on his gaming machine the Kinmoku Shark - an dual screen, laptop come Wii U type console which he plays his favourite game Feudal Fantasy and engages through an online community via the titular Videoverse.

Although the Shark and the often very similar sounding video games people are playing are fictional, the world itself feels so real and gives a great sense of nostalgia. I’d have been a little older than Emmett in 2003 but I still had similar loves and concerns.
I was a nerd into anime and video games, I had friends online I speak to and see less often than I’d like, really the only difference between then and now is the tech and that I’ve had romantic relationships - something Emmett is clearly interested in and a large potential piece of his story.

The interface of the Shark feels so real, with its own start up theme, advertisement banners around Videoverse, liking, sharing and more with posts. Outside of the machine itself Emmett’s desk has a calendar, a couple of notepads (helpful for the player) and usually food wrappers and a magazine that gives you a greater impression of the greater gaming world outside of Emmett’s desk. I could go on about every little touch, graphic and animation but simply put Videoverse really sells itself as something that has happened and is lived in.

Nostalgia isn’t the only feeling Videoverse has strongly stirred up inside of my soul, at time of writing we’re all probably quite familiar with how Twitter is dying and for some of us, myself included, although not a perfect place - losing it would be a real upset and a hard adjustment to make.
Much like myself with Twitter in real life, Emmett has been on Videoverse for years.
They’re made many friendships there and it is quite possibly their main point of social interaction. This is where the drama comes in, as much like Twitter seems to be going the way of the Dodo the Videoverse site, which again is like a - twitter, discord, Wii U Miiverse-alike, is closing down.
Within the game’s universe, it isn’t because an idiot billionaire has taken it over and run it into the ground but much like the Wii U, a clear inspiration on the game, the Shark is being replaced by a new console - The Dolphin.

Alongside the new generation of console is the closing of Videoverse for “Ocean Online” and that uncertainty of the future, what may be lost with the change due to a whole manner of things, be it financial, general interest or whatever else causes some turmoil in Emmett’s life and many others.

Videoverse’s main view is a group of Miiverse looking communities that people can post words, pictures and which can be liked and replied to. There are four groups that Emmett interacts with, one off-topic and one general but a pair linked to his interests in Feudal Fantasy and art.
These community forums are very reminiscent of what you may see in real life, people clearly making friendships, others being antagonistic to straight up problematic, people airing their drama and people just wanting to have fun and having little idea about what else is going on.
Your control here is liking posts where you see fit, making new posts or replies based on a trio of choices and hitting that report button on what you would like to see less of.

To talk over every scenario would spoil the game, but the game deals extremely realistically with every possible Internet drama you could imagine and although you do not completely shape this world your interactions will directly push you into (or out) of specific scenarios with occasionally heart-wrenching and thought provoking outcomes.

Without spoiling every one of them, one of the other main points of interaction are between Emmett and the wonderfully realised characters from friends to regular posters.
Some of these Emmett will go away from the forum and privately chat, with the Shark having a personal messenger that uses text and a webcam.
Emmett will get conversational choices as the chats move on, sometimes with locked options depending on how your Emmett has acted.
These parts paint great amounts of colour into the world, his friends which you can be as warm or cold to as you like will act differently according to what you’ve said and how you’ve interacted with the public side of Videoverse.

Between these two parts of Videoverse and Emmett’s fandom of art and Feudal Fantasy, he discovers and befriends someone new named ViVi.
Much like any interaction with new people online this sees Emmett faced with many questions, of who they are, where they’re from, their gender, their age, profession and more.
As you’d expect most of these mysteries are quickly answered by befriending ViVi but that leads to the even more grounded feeling of showing yourself, maintaining a friendship, dealing with expectations, your own values and more.

Much like I said the world of Videoverse feels real and lived in, so do these interactions.
There’s a strange nostalgia as although these are Emmett’s experiences they feel much like ones that I have had and I imagine reflect things from the developer Lucy Blundell’s past too (something that could also be delved into more but I already know the word count here is going to be high).

Throughout the game there are twists and turns, all dramatic but realistic, at times I felt truly upset, annoyed, happy, gutted and more and this is all down to how well everyone is written and realised and how grounded this fictional world really is.
The only points where the game really threw some barriers between my connection with (or as) Emmett was when he would say things without choices that I would have left unsaid or not even thought about - an issue that is realistically impossible to fully get over, after all we are playing a role of this 15 year old lad, we are not actually them, but one that does not stop feeling bad when things don’t play out how we’d like.

It is easy to categorise Videoverse as a Visual Novel.
VN’s are a genre that I enjoy but have struggled with when it comes to lack of interaction but Videoverse absolutely nails its pacing and flow in story and gameplay.
Checking the forums each day, liking posts, making replies and responding to interactions feel engrossing in the way any social media platform does when it is at its best.
You gain some endorphins on the way not only from the responses the game gives you but the small themes you unlock on the way and all of this is just tasty filler between deeper private conversations with a whole game wrapped in small cutscenes from Feudal Fantasy that give Emmett’s life more realistic structure and also keeps involved in his universe just that little more.

Peaking at the game's trophies it is wonderful to see that so many decisions can branch off in very different ways. Once I was done however this did make me feel a little torn.
I don’t care so much about checking those lists off but much like looking at my own past it made me wonder about the “what ifs” and whether I would actually change decisions or not and because this is a video game and I can at least see those, I was very tempted to but - will I?

It’s a double edged sword having these types of narratives forks in the road. I love that my Emmett may not be the same as someone else’s, but the tease of the possibilities blocked by the time it would take to see them is a nasty cut to the heart.

In conclusion, I loved Videoverse. This truly deserved to be placed in many people’s top games of 2023. Looking at my own, the nearest thing was Paranormasight and whilst I prefer that game for its spooky themes and presentation, Videoverse made me feel more, kept my attention better and in general is an easier recommendation.

At first glance, I thought this was more or less budget Hypnospace Outlaw, with the old internet/Geocities inspiration replaced by some amalgamation of Miiverse, Swapnote, and MSN Messenger. That wouldn't be giving enough credit to Videoverse however; instead of focusing on the mystique of the deep web, Videoverse tackles the intricacies of navigating a dying social network tied to increasingly redundant technology and highlights the relationships within. The game forgoes Hypnospace Outlaw's discovery puzzles, and cuts right to the core of interacting with the community itself, instinctively conveying the fragility of maintaining such relationships. You're constantly scouring the same forums over and over for new comments and any changes, trying to decipher exactly what this particular user meant with just one sentence while playing the simulations in your head about how particular responses (or not responding at all) could make their day a little bit better or potentially upset another member due to unintended consequences.

It's a surprisingly gripping experience despite its limitations: sometimes there are certain responses that the game forbids you from picking because you're not "lawful/cocky" enough even if the responses feel more blunt than out of character, and browsing the same posts repeatedly can feel a bit plodding when the trigger to proceed requires you to leave more comments but the system itself can only mark whether a post is left read/unread. Despite that, the payoff makes the occasional tedium worthwhile; marking down "top posts" in a notebook lets you reiterate those statements to others later on, and the game really comes together when you're using small tidbits of wisdom to brighten an online friend's day. If you're looking for an cathartic blast to the past that depicts the ephemerality of online spaces while thoughtfully forcing players to confront the ambiguity of the interactions stemming within, then Videoverse may be just what you're looking for.

A conglomeration of impossible nostalgias: Nintendo DS tactile device, messenger chats, barely functional webcams, two colored pixelated games and UI, fan art forums, 2000s trends posters… Videoverse basically takes whatever is convenient from each place while giving a kind of immortal internet nostalgia, where seeing the face of someone from another country in a laggy exchange is a kind of magical event, both in its unimaginable existence just a few decades ago and in its low fidelity technological mystique. This blurry yet distinct mass also carries a meaning of both the degree of precision at recalling our memories and how videogames work better with few charismatic gestures, scarce and giant pixels changing the face expression to tell absolutely everything.

In this virtual reality, completely opening yourself is both the only possible and most risky place to do so. Everything is volatile, logging off is erasing your existence and the servers shutting down is the end of the world on top of your desk. As messy as it may be, Videoverse is undeniably a home. The more times you log in, the more those nicknames become your neighbors. For a teenager still figuring out the world, it is as easy to assimilate as reality.

In this place where it is technically impossible to tell apart true from false, love is still the biggest unexplainable truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcKsxHURj24

As someone who spent their early teens talking to people online via forums - oh boy does this hit for me. It's the good kind of nostalgia. It's not bait, it's just crafted carefully.

The story was fun and cute. A solid 4-5 hours of a VN that you can interact with in a unique way with a fun wrapper. Worth it for anyone who has fond memories of this era of internet and want a lil love story.

Now I gotta go play Feudal Fantasy, time to add it to my backlogg...

Ein Spiel über Videospiele und wie es manchmal mehr als nur das Spiel ist, weshalb sie uns so viel bedeuten.

Wart ihr jemals Teil einer sterbenden Community? Habt ihr jemals Kontakt zu Leuten verloren die euch eigentlich mal wichtig waren, einfach weil sie sich nie wieder online meldeten? Fragt ihr euch manchmal was aus all euren Kumpels aus WOW, aus den frühen Tagen der Xbox 360, oder damals von eurer Skypeliste wurde?
Falls ja, dann könnt das Spiel etwas für euch sein.

Ich habs gerade an einem Stück durchgespielt und hab dabei gemerkt, dass Visual Novels ja doch etwas für mich sein können, solange Prämisse und die Art der Interaktion stimmt.

Seit Hypnospace steh ich einfach darauf auf einem Computer durch ein fiktives Internet zu klicken und auch wenn hier Videoverse leider nicht genug Stuff bietet, ist der Teil des Spiels trotzdem sehr unterhaltsam.
Dass es obendrauf eine sweete kleine Geschichte darüber gibt wie unsichere Teenager miteinander interagieren, ist aber auch ein netter Bonus.

Die Moral der Geschichte ist aber: Vielleicht sollte ein 15 jähriger niemanden bei seiner Scheidung zu Rate stehen.