this kind of felt like other narrative indies i've enjoyed, such as the first orwell game, so i felt like i knew what to expect after the first few chapters, and it ended up surprising me.

first off, this game has a pretty decent length - i was expecting to finish this in an afternoon, and it took me two long sessions over a weekend to finish. i also think a lot of the presentational elements are great. the contrast between excellent character portraits and the 3d room in the top portion of the screen is a fun stylistic choice, and the soundtrack is all good. the only disappointment is that many of the songs are rewards for finding collectables, so the music can be quite repetitive at the beginning.

the gameplay was all pleasant. clicking on cameras to activate them, scanning rooms for objects and navigating drones through obstacle courses, that all worked and even though the mechanical depth was shallow, there is plenty of variety in terms of room layout. by the end, you know how to deal with any situation and feel like you have speed and competency, but that's also not the main draw of this game in my opinion.

the narrative is where song of farca really shines. the worldbuilding is perfectly in-depth for a game of this scope, and you learn about the island and the world in ways that mostly feel very natural. i found the writing for all the characters to be varied and generally high quality, and the plot throws plenty of twists and shocking moments at you. things get very heavy at points, and while it sometimes stumbles in its tone, it remained enthralling throughout my entire playthrough. it feels like playing a page-turner.

overall, i really do think this is worth playing, especially if you like detective stories and political intrigue. this is a well-rounded, fun, and intense story with an entertaining surveillance gameplay shell wrapped around it to keep you engaged.