David’s 30 Platinum Trophies Before Turning 30

5/30

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: As close to perfection as one can get.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5: Excellence incarnate.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Amazing experience.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5: Good game.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Fun enough to be worth your time.
⭐️⭐️.5: Missed the mark in a considerable amount of elements.
⭐️⭐️: A trudge towards progress/completion.
⭐️.5: A great deal of regrets playing this.
⭐️: Truly disappointing.
.5: Kudos to anyone with a shred of bother.

The above rating descriptions pertain strictly to the overall rating after taking into consideration the elements below, for which I’ll still employ a five-point rating to get an average afterwards.

Graphics: 4 - Before anything, having played Deliver Us the Moon not too long before this, there will be some “dregs” from that to this due to its similar nature. That said, I think the game’s small size allowed for more attention to world-building. Of course, while not the most sophisticated graphics, the attention to detail is highly appreciated.

Gameplay: 3.5 - Also another walk-and-interact-in-space type of game, it’s a relatively easy puzzler that relies heavily on replaying recordings of the crew you’re sent to investigate (more on that below).

Audio: 4 - Given its also more narrative approach, I think the game did a good job on utilizing sounds (especially the voiceover) as engagingly as can be to keep you hooked to the story (also more on this below).

Replay Value: 1 - It’s very short, though I applaud the ease with which you can backtrack on any stuff you missed. But that’s the thing, though, is you wouldn’t have missed that much to begin with if you decide to do so. Unless, of course, you’ve willingly ignored quite obvious story elements.

Story: 4 - Very short game means very short story, so don’t expect a novel out of it. However, the investigative nature of it worked really well with the replay mechanics of the game, and I particularly liked how you’re essentially a fly-on-the-wall for the most part that really brought each character to life, all while listening to them and making them even more real since you’re relying on their voices 90% of the time (there are stuff to read, too), each having a uniquely colorful personality (pun intended; if you know, you know). Top-notch storytelling via disembodied voices, and again, owing to its size, the game didn’t waste resources telling you its story with the things you can find and interact within that reveals what you need to know.

Overall: 3.3 - Short is its only shortcoming.

Imported from my Backloggery:

I enjoyed what I played of Tacoma for the most part, the narrative was interesting for the most part, and some the implications that existed in the story were interesting, and quite dark. The theme and story they were telling was singular, but Tacoma lacked one huge part of the experience, which was involvement. You don't affect anything, you are a passive observer, which deflated a lot of it for me. Most of the narrative was told to you, which bothered me. I also lost my save.

Gone Home no me gustó, y aún así me he puesto a probar Tacoma porque he visto que comparten duración.

No se disfruta en absoluto, y tampoco conectas con los personajes, que es de las pocas cosas que salvo de Gone Home.

Cunde porque está en el Plus, de lo contrario ni le habría seguido la pista.

Well... while Tacoma lacks in some aspects, it surprisingly exceeds in others.

The setting is space-faring late 21st century, exploring an empty moon orbit station as a contractor. Main source of info is the environment and Augmented Reality recordings, most of the information is given through the AR logs while some unspoken details - although not hidden - can be found through notes and other items.

Honestly the writing isn't bad but it's not much to speak of as well, it takes a stage painting a world of post late capitalism. Currency has fallen, everyone's hurting for money, the corps are trying to screw over people and bust unions.
Nice themes, but the details aren't grounded. All our conceptions of modern geopolitics are irrelevant, not one country we know have been spared from being broken down into stupidly named unions, Confederates, etc... Those bodies are irrelevant other than character ID issuers, but it breaks the suspension of disbelief. Characters are somewhat archetypical with their lame quirks, I felt more attached and interested in the onboard AI more than any of them because ODIN - The AI - has the best writing and depth.

The soundtrack rarely shows, other than an obnoxious diegetic band one character really loves. Visuals are alright for the setting, usual sleek space design language.

Tacoma's best performance is in indirect storytelling, rummaging through the rooms and offices conveys more depth about characters and the world, both aren't that deep but the execution was nice.

It isn't a bad game or even boring if I'm being honest, but I've personally grown tired with this style of narrative and loop. For someone else, this could be a great experience, so hop on if you're still interested in trying it.

Tacoma is a wonderful little game from the devs of Gone Home where you explore a space station & uncover the stories of the previous crew in holographic recordings. Each recording depicting ensemble or concurrent solo scenes, a rewind mechanic to watch it all, the color coded silhouettes & plenty of environmental storytelling elements all develop the characters in such a minimalistic but deeply engaging style to create a lovely story. Also, a small detail I loved: whenever the protagonist needs to write something or initiate a command on the holographic operating system, they use sign language instead of a floating keyboard and it looks incredible.