The Acquisition by Jess Watsky
In choice based games like this one, it always seems like I find the darkest, most abruptly grim story paths before I find the ones that leave a real sense of closure. Is that just a reflection of my own impulses? Or a result of carefully crafted interactivity? Or a coincidence that I’m imbuing more meaning on than reality actually justifies? I guess now is a good time to say that the suicide content warning especially should be well heeded. It gets pretty graphic, and after playing through to a few endings, I started to wonder if I should stop, because I’m not in the best headspace for content like that at this time. My primary takeaway was “wanting things inevitably leads to pain.” Of course, to live is to want, so the logical implication there is that to live is to feel pain. Great.
But I don’t like leaving paths unexplored, and I had time to spend as Claude was still hammering away at refactoring some code for my day job, so I kept going. I’m glad I did, because the theme of wanting was more deeply explored in some of the fresh outcomes I encountered. I feel like this is a game about the nature of wanting itself, and considering how we engage with our own drive for satisfaction and joy left me with a little more to chew on than total despair.
I am not familiar with Glen Baxter, and I had no idea what an Alessi juicer was. I looked it up. It’s an odd, alien-looking contraption that vaguely reminds me of renditions of the evil machines in War of the Worlds. I’m puzzled by the choice, but I like being able to contemplate the significance of it. If I had to come up with a surrealist illustration that could trigger a deep mental spiral within me, what would I choose? I’ll have to give it some thought. If I find some time, perhaps I’ll update this post with my own rendition.