Reviews from

in the past


This game is currently in the Humble Choice for June 2024, and this is part of my coverage of the bundle. If you are interested in the game and it's before July 2nd, 2024, consider picking up the game as part of the current monthly bundle.

Point-and-click Time manipulation

A Guidebook of Babel focuses on the afterlife where people get sent after passing away. In the game, you have certain quests and goals and have to achieve them by going back in time and rewriting the story. You can only rewrite certain pieces, but they’ll change the story so you’ll be able to achieve the set goals. You’ll be rewatching the same scene but also can skip most of the dialogue.

However I just don’t think that’s enough, I could usually spot the solutions in the first hour within seconds of starting a scene. However, I would still have to play through a rather long scene and then do it a second time when trying to solve it and while a lot is skippable, not everything is. The monotonous music or gameplay just made me feel tired, and the story just didn’t grip mostly because I was seeing things twice or three times. Also, there’s the ever-present “Guess what the developer was thinking” to the puzzles. There’s a clever hint system in the game but it’s one of those hint systems that it’s required by the style of puzzles, rather than to help people who are lost.

Pick this up if you like point-and-click games. The time manipulation is interesting at first. I love the idea of time manipulation or changing the past, and just didn’t enjoy how this game did it. It reminded me of the Sexy Brutale which did a lot of this better and with a more straightforward experience. I’m not a fan, and maybe I needed more engagement with the game, but overall I just didn’t enjoy myself with this title.


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