shaneo632
Love the art style and the minimalist story but the clunky gameplay really lets this one down.
It's very focused on trial-and-error, and while the checkpointing is generally very good, moving around the game world doesn't feel good at all. The controls are incredibly loose and I often died feeling like it was the game's fault rather than my own.
The boss encounters are also... not great, with how vague the objectives are, and how much repetition it asks of you upon failure.
A fair effort from the devs but the rough edges and overall lack of polish make it a step below things like Little Nightmares.
It's very focused on trial-and-error, and while the checkpointing is generally very good, moving around the game world doesn't feel good at all. The controls are incredibly loose and I often died feeling like it was the game's fault rather than my own.
The boss encounters are also... not great, with how vague the objectives are, and how much repetition it asks of you upon failure.
A fair effort from the devs but the rough edges and overall lack of polish make it a step below things like Little Nightmares.
Cool martial arts fights and it doesn't take itself too seriously, though it's a pretty basic and forgettable FMV game overall.
The dialogue is... not good, the acting ranges from OK to... not OK, the production values are pretty low, and the story didn't make a dent with me.
The story choices had a little more variation than I expected so it's at least worth playing through 2 or 3 times, but there's also not enough interest here to keep players coming back for long.
All the same, I can't deny I enjoy these FMV games from Wales Interactive even when they're often not that great. Glad to see them keeping the genre alive.
The dialogue is... not good, the acting ranges from OK to... not OK, the production values are pretty low, and the story didn't make a dent with me.
The story choices had a little more variation than I expected so it's at least worth playing through 2 or 3 times, but there's also not enough interest here to keep players coming back for long.
All the same, I can't deny I enjoy these FMV games from Wales Interactive even when they're often not that great. Glad to see them keeping the genre alive.
2023
[DID NOT COMPLETE - PLAYED ABOUT 30 MINUTES]
I just didn't like anything about this - graphics, aesthetic, controls, combat, dialogue, story, it all felt bad or just soulless to me. Combined with co-op progress being tied to host player, nah. Cool to try it on Game Pass for basically pennies but I can't waste my time on crap like this when I have so many good games waiting unplayed.
I just didn't like anything about this - graphics, aesthetic, controls, combat, dialogue, story, it all felt bad or just soulless to me. Combined with co-op progress being tied to host player, nah. Cool to try it on Game Pass for basically pennies but I can't waste my time on crap like this when I have so many good games waiting unplayed.
2023
The idea behind this is really inspired but the execution is a little hit and miss. Fundamentally having to pay attention to the horizontally-scrolling note highway makes it hard to pay attention to the fighting at the top of the screen.
It's pretty basic stuff but honestly not bad - worth checking out when it's on sale.
It's pretty basic stuff but honestly not bad - worth checking out when it's on sale.
2023
A pretty decent step forward for the series overall. The usual hit detection jank aside, it feels and looks good! Career mode could use some work and the lack of online Royal Rumble is criminal but this is very respectable for the most part.
Pretty much just more of the same, but considering how charming Episode 1 was, that's hardly a complaint.
Very cool for both a free game and a glorified April Fools’ Day prank.
Overall a pretty simple visual novel but the charming writing and pretty visuals make it a nice relaxing sit.
The platforming levels break up the gameplay nicely though the last few were a bit too difficult for the chill vibe the game was otherwise shooting for.
The mystery isn’t amazing by any means and the big reveal is basically a cheat because there’s very little opportunity for the player to guess it, but as a free 2 hour experience this was good fun.
Overall a pretty simple visual novel but the charming writing and pretty visuals make it a nice relaxing sit.
The platforming levels break up the gameplay nicely though the last few were a bit too difficult for the chill vibe the game was otherwise shooting for.
The mystery isn’t amazing by any means and the big reveal is basically a cheat because there’s very little opportunity for the player to guess it, but as a free 2 hour experience this was good fun.
2016
This has way more interactivity than Wales’ other FMV games but it’s also WAY more linear. Clearly produced on a low budget but the acting is pretty good and the final plot twist genuinely got me. Not bad for a casual 2 hours on a lazy Sunday.
The key pad puzzle was garbage though. On the Steam Deck’s display I couldn’t tell what the fourth number was and had to look it up.
The key pad puzzle was garbage though. On the Steam Deck’s display I couldn’t tell what the fourth number was and had to look it up.
2023
Y'all are weird. The ending was mildly amusing but these ironic meme games just make me feel out of touch and give me a headache. At least it was only 12 minutes long and looked kinda pretty.
2023
I thought it was pretty good within its own fairly confined constraints. If you enjoyed Mike Bithell's other games this unsurprisingly shares a lot of the same DNA though the IP branding might bring loftier expectations for something bigger. My first playthrough took me just under 2 hours, and it's easy to skip through the dialogue to test out other dialogue/story permutations.
The writing is really evocative and I liked the art of the panels, but it really just felt like a small part of a larger story. Hoping this does well enough for more to be produced. The defrag mini-game was so-so - I didn't love it. Overall enjoyable for Tron/Bitell fans but nothing that'll set the world on fire. I think for a budget asking price it's a fair effort.
The writing is really evocative and I liked the art of the panels, but it really just felt like a small part of a larger story. Hoping this does well enough for more to be produced. The defrag mini-game was so-so - I didn't love it. Overall enjoyable for Tron/Bitell fans but nothing that'll set the world on fire. I think for a budget asking price it's a fair effort.
2023
Gotta say I was pretty disappointed with this. The gameplay is super basic and linear, the player choice is very superficial (I played through it twice doing the opposite thing the 2nd time and the game was mostly the same until very late), and I really missed the road trip element from the original.
The skating mini-game has some cool music and art design, though still fundamentally feels a bit mobile game-y to me. It's about 3 hours long for a single playthrough. Overall it just feels kinda tossed-off and low-effort.
The skating mini-game has some cool music and art design, though still fundamentally feels a bit mobile game-y to me. It's about 3 hours long for a single playthrough. Overall it just feels kinda tossed-off and low-effort.
2023
[DID NOT COMPLETE - played about 30 minutes]
This didn't click with me at all. Fun idea for a game but I found the game logic frustrating and the repetitiveness of the puzzles meant it wasn't very fun to experiment with the various possible scenarios.
This didn't click with me at all. Fun idea for a game but I found the game logic frustrating and the repetitiveness of the puzzles meant it wasn't very fun to experiment with the various possible scenarios.
2023
[DID NOT COMPLETE - played 1 hour approx]
This game has a great art style, lovely music, and overall appealing representation of a culture I know nothing about.
But the gameplay is so basic and shallow, I just couldn't give 6 hours to this. Once they ramped up the fetch quests I decided to dip.
This game has a great art style, lovely music, and overall appealing representation of a culture I know nothing about.
But the gameplay is so basic and shallow, I just couldn't give 6 hours to this. Once they ramped up the fetch quests I decided to dip.
2014
This can scarcely be classified as a conventional gameplay experience considering it's such a passive piece of work, with the intent instead being to soak in the wordless story and admittedly gorgeous atmosphere.
Ultimately I found it quite hit and miss - movement is extremely clunky and awkward, and it actually feels its length despite being only an hour.
But the art is nice and the music is beautiful. It's a cute, easily understood story, but likely only worthwhile for To the Moon completionists. Glad I played it once, I guess.
Ultimately I found it quite hit and miss - movement is extremely clunky and awkward, and it actually feels its length despite being only an hour.
But the art is nice and the music is beautiful. It's a cute, easily understood story, but likely only worthwhile for To the Moon completionists. Glad I played it once, I guess.
2018
Not quite as good as the first, but not far off at all. I prefer the setting of Subsurface and I thought it used dialogue options far more effectively for the detective aspect of the game.
But the writing is still very witty, interesting, and even funny - even unintentionally with the pandemic line - and Mike Bithell manages to draw you into the world of his game even though you see so little of it.
The riddle with the second pass code pissed me off a bit, but otherwise this was a nice relaxing 2-hour sit. I'd love to see more of these, but given that it's been 5 years, I think it might've had its time.
But the writing is still very witty, interesting, and even funny - even unintentionally with the pandemic line - and Mike Bithell manages to draw you into the world of his game even though you see so little of it.
The riddle with the second pass code pissed me off a bit, but otherwise this was a nice relaxing 2-hour sit. I'd love to see more of these, but given that it's been 5 years, I think it might've had its time.