Recent reviews by farfallavendetta

I am baffled by the good reviews for this game. Sure, it's a fun way to pass the time with a friend but the story is complete garbage and is insensitive to any child who has had divorced parents. Mrs. Doubtfire did it better. This game wants to be for children but has some inappropriate content, and one of the most disturbing scenes in a videogame to date that was incredibly cruel for absolutely no reason (the elephant scene). The writing in this game was so awful I was yelling at the characters half the time. Some levels were fun to play, others were frustrating. It seems like the developers had a bunch of ideas for levels (some of which were pretty creative) but couldn't think of a coherent way to link things together. If this is on a discount, maaaaybe pick it up but it's not worth it for full retail price.

The Shivah is the most Jewish game I've ever played. In what other game can you play as a down-on-his-luck rabbi? This opens room for all kinds of conflicts you can't find anywhere else, and The Shivah takes advantage of its unique angle, even though the story doesn't turn out to be anything spectacular. The game's creator, Dave Gilbert, has a bad habit of writing great down to earth, slice of life stories (as he did as well in the Blackwell series) that culminate in ridiculous situations which are a far cry from the relatable realism we see in the beginning. It was hard for me to take the final climax that seriously and I was disappointed that Rabbi Stone showed little to no character development.

If you enjoyed the Blackwell series, then you probably know what to expect in terms of gameplay from The Shivah. A point-and-click game with occasional bouts of frustrating stretches where you wonder back and forth between locations, trying to figure out what detail you are missing. Your choices in dialogue do cause some small deviations in conversations, and there are several different endings that depend on the choices you make in the last scene (I would save before entering the final location so you can try again if you don't like the ending you get).

Despite its flaws, I would recommend picking this game up on a sale, as the story is engaging for its short length (think around two hours to beat). And I mean, where else can you play as a rabbi?

I can't believe I didn't hear more about this game before I decided to play it. It really deserves to be a well known classic, alongside The Longest Journey.

The world of Syberia is similar to ours, but slightly different, in its possessing intricate automaton inventions. There are many things to admire in this game, such as the details in the character and background animations, the absolutely gorgeous environments, and the creativite plot and settings. You can definitely feel the love and effort the developers put into the game. It's hard for me to describe one of the best things that Syberia does well... but I'm going to try: the world it creates is not exactly exciting, but rather relaxing in its wonderment. The atmosphere is calming and whimsical. There are no death screens, no way for you to mess up or have to start over, just you exploring a rich world. Although it might not be big on action, Syberia definitely has a lot to say. Throughout the narrative as Kate changes, the game tells both her and the player that you are capable of much more than you think. The game will move you at parts, if you let it.

Keep in mind there is a sequel to this game, so some issues are left unresolved, but I feel that even without a sequel, the themes and character arcs of this story work well, even standing alone.

A few things that detract from the game are the inability to make Kate move faster during some animations like walking up stairs which makes backtracking irritating, some difficult puzzles that you might need a walkthrough for, and interactive items that are sometimes easy to miss. I highly recommend using a walkthrough if you get stuck to prevent the hair-pulling frustration of combing over every pixel on the screen to find something to help you progress the game. (I don't like using walkthroughs myself, but I had to bend in this case.)

However, these things ultimately do not take away from how much the world will enthrall you, and how much you won't want to leave when the story ends. Pick up this game if you're looking for a calming point and click adventure to help you unwind.