Recent reviews by shiftoptiondash

Excellent little code-breaker.

Picked this up expecting the usual copy-paste Rune Factory grind. Ended up engrossed in one of the best games I've played this year. The soul of Harvest Moon has officially transferred out of SoS and into this series. It is, as Kurama would say... "Goated."

Unpacking, but make it vaguely threatening.

As with most choice-driven VNs, you end up being more passenger than driver, but damn if it isn't a nice ride. My only beef is with the controller interface. If you don't want to hate the dispatch sequences, plug in a keyboard and mouse. Everything else though? Polished to a mirror shine. I wouldn't be surprised to see this game sweep an awards ceremony or two.

All flash, no soul.

These kinds of games live and die by their writing, and I'm happy to say that this one more than succeeds. The characters feel real, the dialogue is smart, and even the meta-commentary on writing and game dev is deftly managed. A delight all the way through. I hope that Rogueside has plans to continue working in this genre, because I'm pretty sure they just set the standard.

I forgot that game writing could be this good.

Bonus points for non-binary representation that made this non-binary idiot cry IRL.

First 10 minutes: Looking for a workaround to a screen resolution issue that's been a problem since at least April 2022. (If you run into it, the fix is here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1202900/discussions/0/3269057884717834429/).

Remaining ~1.5 hours: Asking myself why on earth the mouse controls are the way they are. Every other game on the planet uses right click to rotate 3D objects. Why not here? What are these choices? Was this ported from mobile? I don't know. I do think I would have enjoyed the puzzles more (they're simple, but cute) if I hadn't been so frustrated by the clumsy control scheme.

The story doesn't pick up the slack here either. It feels like someone built out the repair puzzle mechanic, realized they needed a narrative wrapper to sell it, and glued something together. The characters are two-dimensional and you can see every story beat coming from miles away. There are even times where the writer has used the wrong word in a sentence, confusing it for something that sounds similar, but is different enough that it undoes the whole metaphor.

Skip this one unless you're deeply nostalgic for tape decks and analog cameras.

A story in three parts that starts slow but catches like wildfire. Perfect for anyone who read Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and thought "I wish that were a video game." Deep enough for multiple replays.

Lovely animation and art, but the story and gameplay feel thin. I think it's because there are a number of elements and cues common to deeper narratives, but none of the actual depth that makes those narratives meaningful. A relationship isn't compelling simply because it's a relationship.