TEQUILLASUNSET
2023
a superbly interesting and atmospherically resonant experience, i highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of visual novels, narrative games, or horror in general.
the premise hooks its teeth into you early and just makes you want to keep going to unearth the secrets within it. i will say that once you sort of figure out what the gameplay loop is it loses a little bit of its grasp on you, it's a decently compelling narrative but not masterful enough to really get you thinking, and i also felt like the ending(s) were serviceable but not nearly as memorable as that initial burst of discovery.
the premise hooks its teeth into you early and just makes you want to keep going to unearth the secrets within it. i will say that once you sort of figure out what the gameplay loop is it loses a little bit of its grasp on you, it's a decently compelling narrative but not masterful enough to really get you thinking, and i also felt like the ending(s) were serviceable but not nearly as memorable as that initial burst of discovery.
2024
a fun puzzle shooter for you to rack your brain over for a couple hours. there's enough added complexity to keep the pretty simple gameplay interesting and continuously improving throughout, i think the last level was my favorite.
the aesthetics of this game are its strongest asset in my opinion, they have an eerie PS1 survival horror quality to them which create an appropriately oppressive vibe for the subject matter.
there's a leaderboard for you to compare your scores with your friends and other players so you could squeeze some more enjoyment out of that, but i prefer goals that are a bit more concrete, such as a Trackmania-like medal system for example. Either way by the end of this i felt like i was done, it's fun but doesn't reach the heights of a Hotline Miami where it makes you wanna just keep playing until you've mastered it.
oh and the story was there i guess, in reality the aesthetic and music do all the heavy lifting to invest you, the narrative itself is just sort of superfluous in my opinion, you're killing bad guys cause they were bad to you, that's all you need to know, and honestly you didn't even need to know that, maybe keeping it more ambiguous could've added a layer of intrigue to it.
the aesthetics of this game are its strongest asset in my opinion, they have an eerie PS1 survival horror quality to them which create an appropriately oppressive vibe for the subject matter.
there's a leaderboard for you to compare your scores with your friends and other players so you could squeeze some more enjoyment out of that, but i prefer goals that are a bit more concrete, such as a Trackmania-like medal system for example. Either way by the end of this i felt like i was done, it's fun but doesn't reach the heights of a Hotline Miami where it makes you wanna just keep playing until you've mastered it.
oh and the story was there i guess, in reality the aesthetic and music do all the heavy lifting to invest you, the narrative itself is just sort of superfluous in my opinion, you're killing bad guys cause they were bad to you, that's all you need to know, and honestly you didn't even need to know that, maybe keeping it more ambiguous could've added a layer of intrigue to it.
2022
This game was sold to me as a cyberpunk disco elysium where you played as a fugitive on a corporate space station doing anything to survive. Although the comparison is apt, as both games are TTRPG style narrative experiences from burgeoning indie developers and containing a strong anti-capitalist and pro-community message, and this game has taken inspiration from the former in some ways, I feel the comparison ultimately did a disservice to the game, as I came expecting a fun, funny experience full of hijinks.
Instead I got Citizen Sleeper, a much more earnest tale which forgoes' Elysium's humorous cynicism and instead builds a wholesome but realistic and stress inducing experience which sets it apart from contemporaries.
Along the way it also manages to weave in seamlessly the lives of many fantastically illustrated (in both meanings of the word) characters which force an emotional attachment onto the player that makes our player character's decisions feel completely in tune with the players own feelings. There is no need for infinite pathways and dialogue options when you have writers who are simply able to make you want to do what you are allowed to do within the framework of their game.
Mechanically this is more of a game than Disco Elysium, as Citizen Sleeper's carefully designed dice system interacts with the story in such a way as to make you feel the pressure of your situation with every step of the way.
I cannot stress enough how every aspect of this game feels like it's guiding me into personal growth, into my feelings on The Eye and its inhabitants changing in tune with the game's progress as if i was another carefully planned part of the world.
I cannot wait to see what the team at Jump Over The Age has in store for the sequel set in this galaxy that's ripe for further exploration.
Instead I got Citizen Sleeper, a much more earnest tale which forgoes' Elysium's humorous cynicism and instead builds a wholesome but realistic and stress inducing experience which sets it apart from contemporaries.
Along the way it also manages to weave in seamlessly the lives of many fantastically illustrated (in both meanings of the word) characters which force an emotional attachment onto the player that makes our player character's decisions feel completely in tune with the players own feelings. There is no need for infinite pathways and dialogue options when you have writers who are simply able to make you want to do what you are allowed to do within the framework of their game.
Mechanically this is more of a game than Disco Elysium, as Citizen Sleeper's carefully designed dice system interacts with the story in such a way as to make you feel the pressure of your situation with every step of the way.
I cannot stress enough how every aspect of this game feels like it's guiding me into personal growth, into my feelings on The Eye and its inhabitants changing in tune with the game's progress as if i was another carefully planned part of the world.
I cannot wait to see what the team at Jump Over The Age has in store for the sequel set in this galaxy that's ripe for further exploration.
2022
addicting ass game that got me to play for a much longer time than i expected.
there were some design annoyances in the form of repetitive missions, constant pressure to go on to the next objective without giving you some time to chill and just fish and run the restaurant, and the need to constantly introduce whole new mechanics that will only be used once instead of building upon the established tools (i mean c'mon, they introduced a new mechanic HALF-WAY INTO THE FINAL BOSS) but overall it never made me wanna play it less because the core gameplay loop is so addictive and the vibes are great (except for some unfunny fatphobic jokes occasionally).
there were some design annoyances in the form of repetitive missions, constant pressure to go on to the next objective without giving you some time to chill and just fish and run the restaurant, and the need to constantly introduce whole new mechanics that will only be used once instead of building upon the established tools (i mean c'mon, they introduced a new mechanic HALF-WAY INTO THE FINAL BOSS) but overall it never made me wanna play it less because the core gameplay loop is so addictive and the vibes are great (except for some unfunny fatphobic jokes occasionally).