After finishing the story, what did you guys think?

[Terriko]

I honestly felt like the steaks were not that high in comparision to the first one. Literal lives were on the line in season 1. People could die if you messed up. In this one it was just political nonsense, that really had no bearing over the citizens and life in THE NATION. I thought Roban would end up trying to hurt or kill people, but it was all just a social media war. Felt kind of pointless to me, like i really had no purpose in the system in the first place.

[Hendumaica]

In the first game you did what Orwell is suppose to do.

In this one you do undercover highly illegal actions. The stakes may be lower but the under the cover ops are always thrilling.

[T.J. Detweiler]

Comparing the events, I can agree that in the first game the steaks were higher and everything felt more critical.

On the other hand, I think that in Ignorance is Strenght, the way in which you use your "powers" is deeper and more disturbing. Adding the influencer was a homerun for me, I trully felt upset towards the end, specially because I got the ending in which Raban kills himself, all my fault. You can literally destroy someone's life in this game, under the premise of a revoked Moral Codex. It's so messed up

So, in general, for me this game's insight in what something like Orwell can provoke goes far beyond the first one's.

[Cryptic]

This one did a much better job of making me feel guilty about using Orwell's power, especially given that a couple of the people whose lives you ruin have done nothing wrong and you damned well know it--they just happen to be related to the wrong person, someone who is making their lives hell just as surely as you are. It's much more ethically troubling and emotional.

Also, as an English teacher, I just have to point out: 'stakes' are what you play for, 'steaks' are what you eat afterward.

[Digihuman]

I liked the whole thing, but honestly I liked the first game's story more. It was longer, which allowed us more insight into more people, and the lack of time sensitivity with one exception in the final episode made for a better experience overall.

In this game, I've had too many instances of being forced to upload possibly incriminating chunks because I need time to progress.

In addition, the first game let us see the consequences of our ultimate decisions: this game does not, and I believe that is a major failing for the experience as a whole.

Finally, the Influencer was introduced too late with too little use. It should have been introduced in episode 1 of a 3-episode story, or episode 2/3 of a 5-episode story. There should also have been an element of choice to the narrative system so you could use it to go against the wishes of The Office, which could even possibly have helped you identify Iris Young nad find out why she has a bad relationship with The Office.

[Terriko]

Originally posted by Digihuman:

I liked the whole thing, but honestly I liked the first game's story more. It was longer, which allowed us more insight into more people, and the lack of time sensitivity with one exception in the final episode made for a better experience overall.

In this game, I've had too many instances of being forced to upload possibly incriminating chunks because I need time to progress.

In addition, the first game let us see the consequences of our ultimate decisions: this game does not, and I believe that is a major failing for the experience as a whole.

Finally, the Influencer was introduced too late with too little use. It should have been introduced in episode 1 of a 3-episode story, or episode 2/3 of a 5-episode story. There should also have been an element of choice to the narrative system so you could use it to go against the wishes of The Office, which could even possibly have helped you identify Iris Young nad find out why she has a bad relationship with The Office.

I agree with that, i feel like there should be 2 more episodes expanding on Iris Young and why she is trying to take down The Office, since the last 2 episodes will line up with the last 2 in the first game about Orwell becoming public information. I honestly think that will make a far better ending than what we have now. And it expanding on Orwell as a whole

[Radene]

Was a shame to only get three days. And I kinda didn't like voice acting (as in, the fact that you were forced to listen to a call even if you leave it for later - should just give you a transcript).

The media manipulation aspect tho? Chilling and thought-provoking. In the first Orwell, there really was no indication that the government was actively malicious, and the Thought group came across more like a bunch of grumpy people with a chip on their collective shoulder. I'd take Juliet down every day of the week.

Here, tho? Things are darker. And Orwell becomes truly orwellian.

[Digihuman]

Originally posted by Radene:

Was a shame to only get three days. And I kinda didn't like voice acting (as in, the fact that you were forced to listen to a call even if you leave it for later - should just give you a transcript).

Can agree on that.It was cute the first time but Orwell works better as pure transcripts, leaving it to the imagination. plus with the way you're locked out of uploading chunks, all subsequent playtrhoughs have me browsing youtube during calls instead of paying attention or finding clues.

[TinyPrints]

For the story & outcomes I think they were going for, it worked. I felt horrible about using the Influencer. As a gameplay experience, it was very short.....if this was a mini season between Season I and another season which would take us past the public reveal of Orwell (with maybe a mechanic built in to incentivise avoiding detection by the public?)

I am worried that by revealing Orwell & including the creation story in the first season, the developers have limited their options for telling other stories using the same mechanic.

[Digihuman]

Originally posted by TinyPrints:

For the story & outcomes I think they were going for, it worked. I felt horrible about using the Influencer. As a gameplay experience, it was very short.....if this was a mini season between Season I and another season which would take us past the public reveal of Orwell (with maybe a mechanic built in to incentivise avoiding detection by the public?)

I am worried that by revealing Orwell & including the creation story in the first season, the developers have limited their options for telling other stories using the same mechanic.

Not necessarily. In theory, a sequel season could take place with a "revived" branch later on, developed in secret, or continue with The Office, which based on the first game's endings (all of them), likely survived.
or failing that, Orwell can be revived in another country.

[Radene]

Originally posted by Digihuman:

Originally posted by TinyPrints:

For the story & outcomes I think they were going for, it worked. I felt horrible about using the Influencer. As a gameplay experience, it was very short.....if this was a mini season between Season I and another season which would take us past the public reveal of Orwell (with maybe a mechanic built in to incentivise avoiding detection by the public?)

I am worried that by revealing Orwell & including the creation story in the first season, the developers have limited their options for telling other stories using the same mechanic.

Not necessarily. In theory, a sequel season could take place with a "revived" branch later on, developed in secret, or continue with The Office, which based on the first game's endings (all of them), likely survived.
or failing that, Orwell can be revived in another country.

I think that the aspect of "Not even the government knows about the Influencer" should be explored.

[Judge Keemstar]

Well I arrested a woman trying to counsel a woman with PTSD, Caused Raban's brother to run away, and then listened to a man kill himself. All in all I wouldn't say the stakes were as high, but I sure feel like ♥♥♥♥.

[dozenBeneath]

Episode 1 had great stakes: track down a missing secret agent!

Episode 2 threw that all away and became "destroy two innocent people because they're related to a blogger" - which just isn't compelling. Hell, it's pretty insulting. There's no "moral gray area" of the original, where you were weighing personal privacy against the lives of innocents. Instead, you were just being asked to do something despicable for with zero defensible justification.

It didn't help that the breadcrumb trail became absolute nonsense around Ep. 2 either.

Episode 3 was more interesting, but had so many plots and loose ends to resolve that it never really came together for me. Basically in my playthrough, every character just sort of left the story on their own- sometimes stopping to tell me what a bad job I did, as if I'm supposed to feel bad about being an ineffective extortionist.

Probably my biggest gaming disappointment of 2018 so far, since the original was my surprise favorite of 2016.

[dande48]

After playing through, I felt that ther was a lot more of a puzzle, but a lot less personal choice. I ended up accidentally turning in Iris, because I thought her letter gave me her true name and call sign (which was the fake one). The lady through out all the data saying the brother did NOT steal the medical supplies, and cherrypicked the one datachunk I submitted saying he worked alone that night, because I couldn't figure how else to progress the mission. At times, I almost felt like I needed a walk through to make a meaningful choice. But maybe that was the point? I felt so helpless to make any real decision.

The influencer was an interesting mechanic, but I felt like I had very little real choice there either.

The message it is trying to get across was a very though provoking one... the news is always biased and manipulated on all sides. Sometimes to futher "noble" goals, but it is filled with lies and half truths all the same. Ends justified the means. The story I thought was top notch. The game mechanics were a few steps forward and a few steps back. I hope they make another Orwell.

[King of Wei]

Overall it was a lot of fun. Game was a bit too short but the story made up for it. I could take or leave the time limit. Day 2 was tense as all hell because i got stuck around 11am and uploaded useless data trying to throw stones to find a lead until around 3 30. Managed to uncover the affair just before 6 and it was a hell of an adrenalin rush being so close to the deadline. I wish I hadn't gotten stuck to begin with of course. The datachunk I needed to upload felt like redundant information I already had but it did lead to a memorable episode.

The Influencer bit was awesome and I loved the little social media war with Vhart. Though he stood absolutely no chance, which I guess is the point. Felt like kicking a wounded puppy watching everything crumble around him and I loved every second of it. Just wish there was more time to play with it. Hopefully it'll be in a third season.

[joe weed]

I really didn't enjoy it as much as the first season, sadly. I didn't get as engaged with the story, and found it really hard to build up a solid narrative in my head. Possibly because of this, I found the Influencer function confusing and disappointing. I did like the second episode's fast pace but overall the season felt like a bit of a wasted opportunity.