diaugupul
2021
Even though I agree the handholding is a bit too aggressive, I found its rogue-lite nature very fun once you have multiple ways to solve encounters. The environment never felt boring or repetitive thanks to their density and an overwhelming sense of style.
Actually funny and very charming, perfect for handheld, short sessions. Might be one of my new comfort games.
2022
The main highlights are the extremely adorable characters and a pretty engaging story with enough twist and turns to keep you interested. The main mechanic (exploring different story branches after important decisions) is clever but I found the justification (the names and verbs you gain by exploring) very surface-level, which contrasted with the diegetic presentation of the story as a book with a narrator. I also wished I became more emotionally invested, but overall, I really enjoyed it.
If the setting (cyberpunk Singapore) appeals to you, or if you're a sucker for detective games, play it. Even fpr all of its faults, Chinatown Detective Agency manages to immerse you in this time and place, and for the majority of its runtime it really feels like you're a detective, thanks to its light sim / management elements, stunning pixel art, and real-world deductions.
Having said all of that, this isn't a polished game at all. Even 6 months after release, it regularly has basic issues that can impact gameplay. They're workable, for sure, and maybe in the future they'll be patched, but some of these issues speak of a general lack of time and resources to edit and polish the final experience. These range from super obtuse puzzles that even the hint system gets wrong, to annoying audio bugs, where most voice-acted lines won't play -- even the ones that are clues for a puzzle!
I also wish there was an in-game browser, with cyberpunk interface and music while I look for the solutions. I also wish everything was voice-acted, or nothing at all, and that the written lines matched what the actors said. I wish the managing elements were a bit more intense and that you could play all client cases in one run (or at least that it had a "point of no return" save to jump to after beating the game). I wish the soundtrack had more tracks and that the ending wasn't bugged so I could get the perfect resolution. Oh well...
Overall, a short and sweet experience that could be easier to recommend in a more polished state. I hope the devs have the opportunity to improve the game or at least apply these learnings to their next project, because the potential is there.
Having said all of that, this isn't a polished game at all. Even 6 months after release, it regularly has basic issues that can impact gameplay. They're workable, for sure, and maybe in the future they'll be patched, but some of these issues speak of a general lack of time and resources to edit and polish the final experience. These range from super obtuse puzzles that even the hint system gets wrong, to annoying audio bugs, where most voice-acted lines won't play -- even the ones that are clues for a puzzle!
I also wish there was an in-game browser, with cyberpunk interface and music while I look for the solutions. I also wish everything was voice-acted, or nothing at all, and that the written lines matched what the actors said. I wish the managing elements were a bit more intense and that you could play all client cases in one run (or at least that it had a "point of no return" save to jump to after beating the game). I wish the soundtrack had more tracks and that the ending wasn't bugged so I could get the perfect resolution. Oh well...
Overall, a short and sweet experience that could be easier to recommend in a more polished state. I hope the devs have the opportunity to improve the game or at least apply these learnings to their next project, because the potential is there.
2016
The story definitely could be more interesting and unique but that’s not really the focus here, but the surprisingly large amount of permutations and clever endings. It’s a small situation recreated in painstaking detail and with lots of charm thanks to its art direction.
2022
I loved the previous game. It was a nice, short surprise. A clever twist in the Limbo/Inside formula with stunning vistas, cool setpieces and just enough puzzles to keep you entertained. The sequel fails to recreate the same excitement, in part because it’s not surprising anymore (the formula is basically the same), but also because it’s longer and 70% of it is a bit boring visually. I don’t regret playing it but sadly it didn’t offer what I hoped it did.
2013
It’s clearly a very streamlined experience and the foundation for a larger game/platform. The RPG systems are there but very few of them shine through. The exploration is limited and almost compulsory, but it still feels rewarding. The story, atmosphere and world building are top notch, especially during the "murder mystery" part of the game. The ending left me on a sour note because of the annoying enemy waves and a couple of story twists that felt unnecessary. Overall, I really enjoyed it playing it, though, and I look forward to the sequel, which is considered the best in the trilogy.
2016
First, the good stuff. The game is gorgeous, with beautifully painted backgrounds and small lighting flourishes that really elevate the presentation. The voice acting is also strong, and paired up with the amount of text and the chaotic but innovative dialogue system really makes the characters come to life.
Having said all of that, I never clicked with it. The story gets sidetracked constantly by all the "noise" - dialogue that doesn't matter, clever visual tricks, map backtracking, long loading screens. I couldn't care for any of it. When the ending came and the game showed me the impact of my decisions, they felt unearned and pointless, like someone had been playing for the previous 4 hours.
Having said all of that, I never clicked with it. The story gets sidetracked constantly by all the "noise" - dialogue that doesn't matter, clever visual tricks, map backtracking, long loading screens. I couldn't care for any of it. When the ending came and the game showed me the impact of my decisions, they felt unearned and pointless, like someone had been playing for the previous 4 hours.
2016
The Lion’s Song is so underrated. Beautiful art direction with amazing attention to detail, plenty of decisions to make and a very unique setting. You play as three different characters (a violinist, a painter, and a mathematician) in early 20th century Austria and, even though the ending chapter was a bit of a let down, there's so much unique to unpack in the previous three, that I know for sure someday I'll revisit it to relive it again.
2012
Obviously a great achievement for how it brought the tactics genre to a new generation, but playing it in 2022 wasn’t as enjoyable or fun as I expected.
I loved the tension and atmosphere of most missions inside a city. Slowly dissipating the fog of war of the suburbs knowing that discovering a new group of aliens at the end of your turn could mess you up extremely bad is one of the best things the game offers. I also enjoyed how different the classes felt and getting attached to my top officers and bringing them all the way to the last mission.
What I didn’t enjoy is mostly the pacing, the repetitiveness of missions and a very poor job of stoytelling and progression. There are bullshit difficulty spikes, plenty of bugs that will make you lose progress and overall a lack of polish that always prevents you from fully trusting the game.
Overall I enjoyed my time with it but around the 20 hour mark I was ready for it to end. It has some great ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere else but I expected more from one of the classics of the genre.
I loved the tension and atmosphere of most missions inside a city. Slowly dissipating the fog of war of the suburbs knowing that discovering a new group of aliens at the end of your turn could mess you up extremely bad is one of the best things the game offers. I also enjoyed how different the classes felt and getting attached to my top officers and bringing them all the way to the last mission.
What I didn’t enjoy is mostly the pacing, the repetitiveness of missions and a very poor job of stoytelling and progression. There are bullshit difficulty spikes, plenty of bugs that will make you lose progress and overall a lack of polish that always prevents you from fully trusting the game.
Overall I enjoyed my time with it but around the 20 hour mark I was ready for it to end. It has some great ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere else but I expected more from one of the classics of the genre.
2021
I don't recommend playing it unless you check out the demo and you’re extremely into it — because sadly the game gets worse the further you get.
The positives are a very good art direction, and some stunning environmental work. The game serves as a great showcase of what the studio can build in Unreal, and it almost seems intentional that by building different games inside of Gamedec, Anshar is basically proving their versatility and attention to detail in creating unique levels. It's a great "hire us" pitch, I'll admit.
The negatives are the narrative, the dialogue and some very basic quest design. The lore is so unnecessarily complicated for a game that has very little new to say. The main ideas of each level are explained in one line in a trailer they made 3 years ago. Everything else is filler, and it increases in quantity and stupidity the further you're in the game. By the end I couldn't care less about the main plot and the protagonist. There's also a lack of good secondary characters, so it's very hard to stay invested.
Gamedec is disappointing because it had a good premise and the art and production chops to pull it off. A narrative game lives and dies by its writing, though, and here it went from basic but serviceable to bad and boring.
The positives are a very good art direction, and some stunning environmental work. The game serves as a great showcase of what the studio can build in Unreal, and it almost seems intentional that by building different games inside of Gamedec, Anshar is basically proving their versatility and attention to detail in creating unique levels. It's a great "hire us" pitch, I'll admit.
The negatives are the narrative, the dialogue and some very basic quest design. The lore is so unnecessarily complicated for a game that has very little new to say. The main ideas of each level are explained in one line in a trailer they made 3 years ago. Everything else is filler, and it increases in quantity and stupidity the further you're in the game. By the end I couldn't care less about the main plot and the protagonist. There's also a lack of good secondary characters, so it's very hard to stay invested.
Gamedec is disappointing because it had a good premise and the art and production chops to pull it off. A narrative game lives and dies by its writing, though, and here it went from basic but serviceable to bad and boring.
2023
Highlights for me were the inventive art direction and some mind-blowing moments in the later half. The puzzles were the right amount of difficult and you feel how polished and playtested they were in that you can't never "break" the game or be soft-locked, and the next step is always intuitive yet not too obvious. Still, the puzzles were a bit too mundane for the world they created — they were never a chore, but they became a routine.
2022
Very confident game. The town is extremely well realised, with beautiful 2D art, subtle animations and great use of sound and music. The dialogue is always delightful to read and in very few instances it overstays its welcome (very remarkable for a game that is 90% dialogue). The choices and overall story arc are clearly very well thought out and the ending —while not super suprising— manages to feel logical and satisfying.
More of the same but also worse. The art, atmosphere, music and drink system remain strong but the writing didn’t manage to be interesting at all. A shame because I really liked the concept and art of the new characters but I couldn’t be less interested in a character talking about first-world influencer problems for 5h, for example. Give me more lore of the world, and the struggles of the multiple races, or just let me explore more variety in the drinks system.
2023
It’s consistently pretty and polished, but the too vague plot you’re unraveling and the lacklustee puzzle variety made me lose interest the further I got. The extremely cute creature that follows you is easily the best part of the game.