snarlinger
Comedically it's a bit less effective than the other two seasons. There's a big miss in the last episode -- Sam is weirdly misogynistic towards a recurring character. But it's still Sam & Max so it's hard to hate. Narratively and mechanically it's the most ambitious the franchise has gotten, and on those fronts it largely hits.
It was good. Not as many reveals as I thought there would be considering the time period in which it's set. But it was well-written and largely avoided the pointless fluff that previous chapters were riddled with (apart from an excruciatingly-long Mahjong scene).
2012
A fun little puzzle platformer with an interesting premise. The story is very underplayed though; the game builds up these interesting characters and then discards them before they can do anything interesting with each other.
2018
Some visual bugs and audio mixing issues, but otherwise, another sprawling installment with strong character conflict at its core.
Gorgeous and smart and packed with meaning.
Great writing, music, art. A more cohesive satire than the Telltale games. Comes to a surprisingly effective thematic point by the end that keeps the satire from feeling too hollow. Awkward difficulty progression though -- I found the first third of the game much harder than the last two thirds.
I adore Sam & Max, so my rating is very biased.
I adore Sam & Max, so my rating is very biased.
2015
A game about a terrifying and misunderstood clown. It's kind of about loving people regardless of how little you understand each them. Deeply strange, kind of unsettling, pretty beautiful. Every puzzle is logical, and because of how the game values empathy for characters over progression, solving them is rewarding on an emotional level. My biggest issue is from the implementation of the dream world mechanic. When you go to sleep, you enter a surreal landscape with game hints and obfuscated backstory. But you can only enter this landscape if you sleep at Dropsy's home, which is inconvenient to reach for most of the game. This meant that I barely saw the dream world during my playthrough. I think this made the story feel less directed.
Other than that, this game is really easy to love. I'd highly recommend it if you love point and click adventure games or stories about valuing life.
Other than that, this game is really easy to love. I'd highly recommend it if you love point and click adventure games or stories about valuing life.
2021
Very fun co-op minigames that successfully make you feel like a spy. It's on the short side, which is unfortunate, because the story isn't especially satisfying. But what's there will let you laugh and bond with a friend for a few hours. I'd recommend it. You just might not find it particularly memorable.
2018
A clever and emotionally resonant story about love and empowerment. The game's gorgeous to look at and listen to, and it ties its mechanics to the narrative in engaging ways. There's a bit of thematic depth too -- it's not superficial. Your appreciation of the game will probably depend on your own relationship with romance, and how much emotional meaning you draw from opposite-gender couples in fiction. I'm not particularly romantic and don't relate much to opposite-gender couples, so the story didn't affect me as strongly as it might affect other people. But I still had a good time and came away with some things to chew on. I'd recommend it.
2017
This game rocks. It's about workers who find love and beauty under oppressive conditions. Its writing is incredibly natural, and because of the game's pace and your objective distance from the characters, you're allowed to absorb its ideas and feelings in a way that feels true and meaningful. It's also visually and sonically immersive, which helps. If you get into games like Life is Strange, What Remains of Edith Finch, or SOMA, you'll probably get a lot out of this one.
2018
Got hooked by the premise and the hint of a story in the in-game notebook. But the game falls flat in the first hour. There's no tutorial, which is part of the enigmatic appeal of some survival games, but given how easy it is to softlock yourself the game desperately needs one. Resources only spawn in a radius around your raft, meaning if you lose the thing you have no way to collect items and progress. You can't build a new raft either, only extend an existing one, so if the shark gobbles your raft up you are once again out of luck. I wouldn't half-mind these choices if they were communicated in-game through a tutorial or additional end-states. But they're not, and so they come across as bugs more than they do features.
If you're into survival games though, you'll probably get more out of this than me. Just make sure you play with friends.
If you're into survival games though, you'll probably get more out of this than me. Just make sure you play with friends.
2017
Loved it. Great pacing, decent dialogue, really tasteful use of multimedia in the way the experience extends past the game window. The ending I got was honestly bewildering, but I think that's what it was going for. It ends up being a story about how fragile relationships can feel as you grow up, how fragmented your sense of self can get when you grow up on the Internet, and how isolating it can feel being the ad-hoc therapist for other kids who don't take the time to understand you back. It doesn't play fair with your emotions and it interprets your choices in bad-faith, reflecting how after everything these characters go through, they truly have no clue how to trust themselves, let alone each other. Too real...
It's pretty excellent. Much more complex, thematically rich than the first game. The ending is difficult. The game loads a bunch of exposition and reveals into the final 20min, which makes it hard to process. But chew on it for a bit afterwards and you'll find there's a lot to think about. Kind of fridge horror, if the nature of time, purpose, and parenting are scary to you.
The game's a bit buggy (not atypical for Night School) and it definitely could have used another 30min at the end to let those final moments breathe. But it's a worthy sequel and I had a great time with it.
The game's a bit buggy (not atypical for Night School) and it definitely could have used another 30min at the end to let those final moments breathe. But it's a worthy sequel and I had a great time with it.
2019
It's a game about creativity and ambition and justice, set on the Internet when the Internet still promised a cyberspace utopia. Sticks the landing somewhere amidst a bunch of moods -- campy, beautiful, hilarious and gutwrenching -- it never feels unfocused despite the subject matter. If you've ever used the Wayback Machine to find an old online community you were a part of, and been simultaneously overjoyed and existentially flattened by the experience, you kind of get what this game is going for and will probably feel quite validated. If you haven't, it's still an impressive and emotional story. Only thing I'll say is that you might get some pacing issues near the end. I say 'might' because it depends on how deeply you explore the game's fictional internet early on and when you find certain pieces of information. It's a consequence of the game's non-linearity. It causes issues like that, but it also makes your experience unique and personal. It's a worthy trade-off in my opinion -- you're not going to remember the pacing issues for very long.
The game is beautiful and impressive and validating despite the pacing issues. If you love story-based games and the Weird Internet, you won't be able to escape this one for a few days.
The game is beautiful and impressive and validating despite the pacing issues. If you love story-based games and the Weird Internet, you won't be able to escape this one for a few days.
Very smart and entertaining, but the humour is so dry that it wears me out. It's very worth playing though. The ending is excellent and reminds me of The Beginner's Guide.