As the first FMV game I've played (discounting Netflix's Bandersnatch as that was so long ago I genuinely don't remember what it was like), I mostly enjoyed this!
Something that somehow took me by surprise was just how well-executed the whole thing was on a cinematic level. The scenes were lit and shot beautifully, the actors all put out very believable performances, and the story's central mystery was fairly enjoyable - if not particularly surprising - to unravel. I also thought the music was a treat: it knew when to be darkly oppressive and when to recede to a feather-light touch that enhanced the dialogue.
The interactive aspect of the game also took me by surprise. Almost all interaction was done through the Playstation controller's touchpad, from selecting dialogue options to more mundane actions like flicking open a lighter. Just the act of using my finger to trace the path of the action - aided by beautiful light trail indicators that blended perfectly with the cinematography - made it feel more immersive and tactile, although I'll admit that occasionally it could be a little finicky.
Where the game ran into some trouble was in its branching paths. I think there was a good degree of variability and by the end of my first playthrough, I felt like I had made some concrete decisions. But the second playthrough was made a touch tedious simply because there was no way to skip scenes I'd already seen. Thankfully, there was enough of it that was different to make it worthwhile, but I can only imagine the issue getting worse with further playthroughs. If chapter selection would have been unfeasible due to the cascading consequences of the player's choices, perhaps the ability to fast-forward through scenes could have been added? As it is, I probably won't be doing another playthrough despite having only seen about 70% (by my estimate) of the game.
Nevertheless, playing this has got me interested in trying more FMV games - which I'd say is a point in Erica's favour and shows that, regardless of my gripes, I enjoyed my time with it on the whole.
Something that somehow took me by surprise was just how well-executed the whole thing was on a cinematic level. The scenes were lit and shot beautifully, the actors all put out very believable performances, and the story's central mystery was fairly enjoyable - if not particularly surprising - to unravel. I also thought the music was a treat: it knew when to be darkly oppressive and when to recede to a feather-light touch that enhanced the dialogue.
The interactive aspect of the game also took me by surprise. Almost all interaction was done through the Playstation controller's touchpad, from selecting dialogue options to more mundane actions like flicking open a lighter. Just the act of using my finger to trace the path of the action - aided by beautiful light trail indicators that blended perfectly with the cinematography - made it feel more immersive and tactile, although I'll admit that occasionally it could be a little finicky.
Where the game ran into some trouble was in its branching paths. I think there was a good degree of variability and by the end of my first playthrough, I felt like I had made some concrete decisions. But the second playthrough was made a touch tedious simply because there was no way to skip scenes I'd already seen. Thankfully, there was enough of it that was different to make it worthwhile, but I can only imagine the issue getting worse with further playthroughs. If chapter selection would have been unfeasible due to the cascading consequences of the player's choices, perhaps the ability to fast-forward through scenes could have been added? As it is, I probably won't be doing another playthrough despite having only seen about 70% (by my estimate) of the game.
Nevertheless, playing this has got me interested in trying more FMV games - which I'd say is a point in Erica's favour and shows that, regardless of my gripes, I enjoyed my time with it on the whole.