MarmaladeSparrow
2020
God I love paradise killer - the mystery isn't super in depth in and of itself, neither is this game a standard detective or puzzle game if that's what you're interested in. It's a collectathon platformer, based in truly one of the most interesting and creative sci-fi/fantasy worlds I've seen in games. Every location is just oozing style and vibes and the amount of stuff to explore and find is excellent.
It's quite wordy so if that's not your thing this won't be for you, although also if you just want words it also won't be for you. The platforming is a little jank, but only imo in ways that enhance your ability to get to each nook and cranny of the game world and the story doesn't quiiiiiiiiiiiite stick the landing, but not in a way that massively impacted my enjoyment of the game.
Overall highly recommend it, if it seems like it's your thing it will be.
It's quite wordy so if that's not your thing this won't be for you, although also if you just want words it also won't be for you. The platforming is a little jank, but only imo in ways that enhance your ability to get to each nook and cranny of the game world and the story doesn't quiiiiiiiiiiiite stick the landing, but not in a way that massively impacted my enjoyment of the game.
Overall highly recommend it, if it seems like it's your thing it will be.
God this does not actually deserve this high of stars but like - if you like FMV as a genre, if you like campy British comedy, this game will just be the best thing ever made.
The ending sucks, the UI is clunky, some of the contradictions are dubious but god it's so unbelievably charming. The game is fun and doesn't overstay it's welcome, it honestly has some truly innovative small touches that I really wish the FMV genre would utilise more. Also the performances!!! Every single actor gives it their all in such an iconic way - there are so many memorable moments and lines, it's just so good. In my heart I want to give it 4.5 stars or 5 stars but I've laid out to myself what my star rating system is and I can't just make exceptions cause I adore this game with my entire soul.
But yeah my real main complaint is the ending is very weak but it's such an experience that that really fails to bother me nowadays. Also I do recommend playing with friends it really enhances the experience.
The ending sucks, the UI is clunky, some of the contradictions are dubious but god it's so unbelievably charming. The game is fun and doesn't overstay it's welcome, it honestly has some truly innovative small touches that I really wish the FMV genre would utilise more. Also the performances!!! Every single actor gives it their all in such an iconic way - there are so many memorable moments and lines, it's just so good. In my heart I want to give it 4.5 stars or 5 stars but I've laid out to myself what my star rating system is and I can't just make exceptions cause I adore this game with my entire soul.
But yeah my real main complaint is the ending is very weak but it's such an experience that that really fails to bother me nowadays. Also I do recommend playing with friends it really enhances the experience.
2015
God I really want to like this game - I also really want to play it more! I love strategy games, I love the style and aesthetic but I just can not get to grips with this game.
I did a complete run through on beginner difficulty and had a great time with it but trying to replay it on harder difficulties just doesn't feel rewarding at all. Maybe I'm just bad ™ but it feels like once you mess up there's very rarely a good way to salvage the situation and losing a unit is devastating to the rest of the run through (let alone losing both). On top of this levels and strategies do start feeling a little repetitive - it never feells like you actually get to use units' cool unique abilities :(
Idk I really want to come back to this at some point, maybe with a strategy guide but for now I can't say I think it's a super well balanced experience but a first runthrough is enjoyable.
I did a complete run through on beginner difficulty and had a great time with it but trying to replay it on harder difficulties just doesn't feel rewarding at all. Maybe I'm just bad ™ but it feels like once you mess up there's very rarely a good way to salvage the situation and losing a unit is devastating to the rest of the run through (let alone losing both). On top of this levels and strategies do start feeling a little repetitive - it never feells like you actually get to use units' cool unique abilities :(
Idk I really want to come back to this at some point, maybe with a strategy guide but for now I can't say I think it's a super well balanced experience but a first runthrough is enjoyable.
I mean besties it's exactly what you think it is going to be on the tin - there was a lot more fun secrets to find than I was expecting which was great! Enjoyed that a bunch. Some of the UI is kind of clunky and the writing isn't anything revolutionary, but like the art is cute, there was much more to it than I was expecting and I had fun so yknow.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Emily is Away <3 feels like it's telling the same story for the 3rd time in a way that just feels old at this point. The emotional beats hit and are written with the same down to earth feel they always do but god, how many times do we need the story of having a gf in highschool who no matter what you do will leave you before you go to college.
From a presentation perspective though, the game is gorgeous, it nails the early Facebook feel, and getting to stalk and wander through people's pages and photos is such fun - as is listening to the curated 2000s playlist, they add a really nice touch and feel to the game, especially when playing them in the background of general messaging. If anything I'd have liked more to mess around with and find on the various Facebook pages but I realise at a point that takes away from the story.
Speaking of the story, there are two major things that bug me about it. First off, you get locked into a route real fast and there's very little room to breathe in the paths, for example, I was more interested in Evelyn than Emily but making the decision to not ditch a friend to go to a party locked me onto Emily's route super early on. I realise that this was supposed to be a "pick ur gf" binary choice, but it felt poor that there was no wiggle room esp since from my perspective I chose Emily's option because it was pre-organised and I didn't wanna be a dick. But yeah no matter how hard you try to friendzone Emily afterwards you physically cannot not date her after making the choice to play Mario Kart with her one time, love that for me.
The other issue is probably more contentious? But basically it sort of bothered me how the game acted as though the mc could be any gender. For context I'm a girl-ish and I'm queer so upon getting the profile picture options I chose one of the more femme looking characters and went into the story with the mindset that I was playing a girl. And just- the story is so clearly about an mc who's a guy, I don't quite know how to articulate it but it's such a straight guy story, which isn't a problem inherently but I kinda wish like the earlier ones I'd gone into it with that mindset in advance and only ever considered my character a boy. Like just none of what happens would happen to a wlw character in 2006 like it just wouldn't. Idk maybe there's someone out there who has had this experience but it just felt weirdly performative to give you a choice of gender presentation and then tell a story that was so clearly meant for one specific kind of lead character.
But yeah, ignoring the negativity expressed above, I still had fun with the game, if you think it'll interest you it probably will, the facebook aspect is well done and I don't regret playing it - the story aspects just left a lot to be desired for me personally.
From a presentation perspective though, the game is gorgeous, it nails the early Facebook feel, and getting to stalk and wander through people's pages and photos is such fun - as is listening to the curated 2000s playlist, they add a really nice touch and feel to the game, especially when playing them in the background of general messaging. If anything I'd have liked more to mess around with and find on the various Facebook pages but I realise at a point that takes away from the story.
Speaking of the story, there are two major things that bug me about it. First off, you get locked into a route real fast and there's very little room to breathe in the paths, for example, I was more interested in Evelyn than Emily but making the decision to not ditch a friend to go to a party locked me onto Emily's route super early on. I realise that this was supposed to be a "pick ur gf" binary choice, but it felt poor that there was no wiggle room esp since from my perspective I chose Emily's option because it was pre-organised and I didn't wanna be a dick. But yeah no matter how hard you try to friendzone Emily afterwards you physically cannot not date her after making the choice to play Mario Kart with her one time, love that for me.
The other issue is probably more contentious? But basically it sort of bothered me how the game acted as though the mc could be any gender. For context I'm a girl-ish and I'm queer so upon getting the profile picture options I chose one of the more femme looking characters and went into the story with the mindset that I was playing a girl. And just- the story is so clearly about an mc who's a guy, I don't quite know how to articulate it but it's such a straight guy story, which isn't a problem inherently but I kinda wish like the earlier ones I'd gone into it with that mindset in advance and only ever considered my character a boy. Like just none of what happens would happen to a wlw character in 2006 like it just wouldn't. Idk maybe there's someone out there who has had this experience but it just felt weirdly performative to give you a choice of gender presentation and then tell a story that was so clearly meant for one specific kind of lead character.
But yeah, ignoring the negativity expressed above, I still had fun with the game, if you think it'll interest you it probably will, the facebook aspect is well done and I don't regret playing it - the story aspects just left a lot to be desired for me personally.
This review contains spoilers
Very mixed opinions on this one - it's superbly written but there's definitely moments where the plot and character writing goes a little off the rails (thinking axe ending in particular which is a slight pisstake) or is far too expository. Almost feels like there should have been some neutral endings for getting midway to a good ending (thinking axe ending once again). Would be 4 stars but the ending gets a bit fucked due to obviously having been intended for the DS - I'm still glad I played the PC version because the voice acting is excellent but the overall experience definitely sounds like it's more cohesive on the DS.
Art is great - I wasn't at all bothered by the artefacting some people complain about.
Puzzles range from very easy to only difficult because you didn't pick up the exact right object on a specific screen, maybe I have too high standards from playing Professor Layton as a kid? I don't know, it just felt like the majority of puzzles were "find item that goes in obvious place once you've found it", but they're not awful by any means.
Overall recommend it, especially if it is on sale, it's a game with a clever and interesting story with fun characters, just note the ending is vastly improved on DS.
Art is great - I wasn't at all bothered by the artefacting some people complain about.
Puzzles range from very easy to only difficult because you didn't pick up the exact right object on a specific screen, maybe I have too high standards from playing Professor Layton as a kid? I don't know, it just felt like the majority of puzzles were "find item that goes in obvious place once you've found it", but they're not awful by any means.
Overall recommend it, especially if it is on sale, it's a game with a clever and interesting story with fun characters, just note the ending is vastly improved on DS.