This is why terminally online people must be sectioned

You ever just play a game that feels like it was dragged out of a corner of your psyche? Well, if you're anything like me, Critters for Sale might feel like that to you too.

Critters for Sale is a collection of short stories in the style of point-and-click adventures. Each story has you taking on the role of a new character in a different location at a different point in time. While the stories initially feel heavily disconnected, there is an over-arching saga being told and the stories feel cohesive.

Visually, Critters for Sale is incredibly striking. Its monochromatic aesthetic is used effectively to produce some absolute entrancing and shocking visuals that lean heavily into surrealism and psychedelia. A lot of imagery pops with trippy effects and a smart use of dithering. Music, while nothing incredible, is snazzy and adds a nice dream-like atmosphere to a lot of the scenes.

Writing is also very entertaining at times, you encounter these absolutely bizarre moments with talking animals, weird people in fetish outfits, and otherworldly entities. It's a tale that clearly draws on various cultures while also remixing them into a unique work.

While I enjoyed my time with Critters for Sale and think that there are some strong elements, I do also think that there are some significant issues. First, interactivity is quite minimal. You make a couple decisions (some of which don't matter) and that's about it for the majority of the runtime. There are a few moments where the game attempts to engage. While not always a winner, I think it succeeds mostly in the Dragon story with the whole story acting essentially as an escape room puzzle. I also really liked the few moments where the game called upon the player to use information from across the other stories to solve a puzzle. It helped create a sense of cohesion. However, these puzzles were few and far between and most of the game was just clicking on scenery.

Having to restart the entire short story after seeing each ending also became tedious as I had to speed through all the content that stayed the same each time. Additionally, the game doesn't save your spot in the stories, so if you have to quit (or go to another short story for info), you're starting from the beginning each time.

Finally, and most notoriously, the game struggles to find its identity. There are moments where this game really shines and feels like it's building a fascinating, grand narrative. But there are other moments where the game feels like it's just a vehicle for the creator to show off their favourite pop culture stuff. When it starts referencing real-world pop culture, it feels so shallow and silly and I feel like I'm playing something birthed out of the depths of 4chan.

While laying the groundwork for a fascinating narrative and brandishing a compelling art style, Critters for Sale too often slides into being a bunch of pop culture references to our world, thus detracting from the elements that make it unique. It also doesn't help that some valuable quality-of-life features are missing, resulting in a game that falls into tedium at points. I'd score it 6/10.

Soft recommend FFO: surrealist and post-modern art, Death Grips, Twin Peaks, visual novels, and dropping acid while running a fever that might kill you

My biggest criticism is that I wish there was more of this. The genre tags dont accurately describe it. This game is the dream that you forgot upon waking that left you with detached feelings of urgency and importance.

Very good energy.

one of my favorite surreal indie games i've ever played, and i play a lot of weird games. adore the visuals, super smooth and memorable with countless moments where i would just sit and stare at the animations. music is absolutely fantastic, and is a perfect fit with the surreal visuals. this game strikes a particular feeling in me that i can't quite explain but its something i've been needing to see my whole life. huge inspiration to me, great ass game