空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu) - Phrase meaning literally "to read the atmosphere", equivalent to English's "to read the room".
In case you were wondering, that's where the name 空気読み comes from. As far as really defining the game, however, one can't easily top DeviMetric's summarizing of the game as "social anxiety Wario Ware", which perfectly encapsulates the experience. To those who have never played Wario Ware, it is a collection of microgames in which the player is thrown into a series of situations where they have control of a person or object in a scene and must figure out, in just a few seconds, what is expected of them in that situation and how to do it.
What separates Kuukiyomi from Wario Ware, and what makes it so novel, is that its microgames revolve around social situations. Say you're on a train, sitting between two empty seats, and a couple enters the car. Armed with just directional inputs and the A and B buttons, what will you do? That might be a simple one, but as the game progresses into its many levels, more unusual situations begin to appear, and those who're not quick on their feet will end up getting lots of awkward looks.
There's just over an hour of gameplay to be had with the default game mode, then there's an alternative mode where acting socially inadequately is the objective. Finally, the game features a list of secrets that are unlocked by taking unorthodox approaches to the situations at hand. I figure most of the replayability, however, comes from having other people (preferrably that have some knowledge of Japanese culture) have a go at the campaign. Kuukiyomi has become one of my favorite party games, and watching other people struggle with it has consistently gotten laughs out of the friend groups I bring it to.
In case you were wondering, that's where the name 空気読み comes from. As far as really defining the game, however, one can't easily top DeviMetric's summarizing of the game as "social anxiety Wario Ware", which perfectly encapsulates the experience. To those who have never played Wario Ware, it is a collection of microgames in which the player is thrown into a series of situations where they have control of a person or object in a scene and must figure out, in just a few seconds, what is expected of them in that situation and how to do it.
What separates Kuukiyomi from Wario Ware, and what makes it so novel, is that its microgames revolve around social situations. Say you're on a train, sitting between two empty seats, and a couple enters the car. Armed with just directional inputs and the A and B buttons, what will you do? That might be a simple one, but as the game progresses into its many levels, more unusual situations begin to appear, and those who're not quick on their feet will end up getting lots of awkward looks.
There's just over an hour of gameplay to be had with the default game mode, then there's an alternative mode where acting socially inadequately is the objective. Finally, the game features a list of secrets that are unlocked by taking unorthodox approaches to the situations at hand. I figure most of the replayability, however, comes from having other people (preferrably that have some knowledge of Japanese culture) have a go at the campaign. Kuukiyomi has become one of my favorite party games, and watching other people struggle with it has consistently gotten laughs out of the friend groups I bring it to.