Three-Card Reading
A short vignette of a group of three friends after the events of a previous game. It was nice watching the story unfold, and I enjoyed the visuals, art, voice acting, and text bubble mechanics. Not much to say, but as a Tarot fan, I found it interesting to see the different ways in which people interpret their decks.
Test Subject: Synaptix
Cool game! It reminds me of a different indie game that recently came out called clinical trial, but these two stories go off in wildly different ways. I enjoyed the writing style and how you could choose what was most important to you while listening to commentary on how the author believes the world may change as artificial intelligence continues to grow more legs and encroach on different areas of the human experience. I ended up going through all the doses, meeting the strange man, and overall staying quiet because I wanted my dog to get their cataract surgery, but I went back and told the reporter which seemed to lead to the best ending. I really liked the atmosphere of this game and found it fascinating to experience.
Stowaway
Fun game! I liked how many different ways there are to get a good ending. It was a hodgepodge of different fantastical elements like aliens, ogres, and merpeople. My favorite ending was escaping on the starship and I only went back to see what the more gruesome endings would bring. Overall, it was an enjoyable game and I especially liked the prose and the simplicity of the interactions between creatures and the protagonist.
Starfish & Crystallisation
This was a beautiful game. The music was gripping and flowed well with the prose. The background images that came in and faded was indicative of the mental state of the protagonist and the symbolism was just incredibly on point. I was shocked by the end because the protag had such a deep connection with their commander but I wasn’t sure by the ending page messages if the commander had reciprocated those intense feelings. I was completely enraptured by this presentation and it was a graceful story to witness.
Radiance Inviolate
Interesting story! I enjoyed playing through and found the characters to be compelling. I unfortunately ended up getting Lysander dusted on my first playthrough but went back and got an ending where a cool lawyer saved him. I liked world-building and found myself really immersed by the descriptions of the environment and dynamics of the different types of creatures living amongst human beings. It feels like a snippet of what could be a much larger universe.