Hidden Gems, Hidden Secrets (by Bez) @Norbez
I'm going to be hiding my unstructured/live time play through thoughts behind a drop down because of the nature of some of the content in the game. Please heed the content warnings inside of HG/HS, and proceed with caution.
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The background noise is kind of annoying. The little message blips are cute but I very rarely listen to the audio of games- (including Stardew, which shocks a lot of people I’ve mentioned it to?).
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They’ve done a very good job of imitating a messenger interface and as someone who’s basically always on Discord, it was very intuitive. It almost reminds me a bit of Blooming Panic’s interface, which was very solid UI. The little flickering “X is typing” touch especially is really lovely.
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One thing that didn’t really work for me was the odd toggling through options- I kept accidentally sending one without meaning to, or swapping the option because my impulse is to click on the message to send it while using the arrows off to the side to switch through options.
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I kind of giggled at the mention of a Kit, since it makes me think of our Kit. Just a coincidence, I’m sure, but I smiled all the same. I like Kit’s silly bo billy little posts and our occasional interactions on Tumblr.
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The variety of communication presentations was really cool- emails, logs, the chat. The logs really made me think of the basic formatting on some older IF sites or MUD logs/wikis, which was a nice immersive touch.
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It was deeply uncomfortable to have to play the unsympathetic character as George with asking why they couldn’t wait for a better time to come forward. I’m also really upset by the fact that this conversation is happening where a child could see- (a bit confused as to why this conversation is taking place in a public channel where August could see, even if he had gone to sleep, if the goal was to keep him from knowing, wouldn’t it make more sense for it to occur in another channel? But I guess you have to suspend that disbelief for narrative tidiness) but I think the like, being upset and discomforted is the point. Bez’s work rarely holds back on the punches.
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Yeah, going in from the warnings and the second I saw that 14 year old mentioned, my stomach lurched- I knew Kit would be involved somehow in the centre of the story. I feel really sad for Kit. I can empathize with that experience. And 14 is so young.
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God, the sicko repeating the phrase ‘you are a very talented young lady’ makes me rabid. I’m glad he’s maybe-dying in the story. “And your remark about God—
hah! If I were God, oh, the things I would do. Controlling the weather would
be just the start.” Ew! EW! EWWW! -
I specifically chose the options to reveal information to the group for each of the characters- as uncomfy as it was, it’s important to have candid discussions on this sort of thing. Hiding things- feeling too ashamed to share, like no one will believe you, like it’s your fault- these are all things I’ve grappled with, and it’s what lets this sort of thing perpetuate, especially in a group dynamic where the perpetrator has social power.
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The pacing of the text was a bit slow- I often found myself having to wait around for a bit, maybe leave the tab open and scroll back up. I wish there was a way to toggle speed- a lot to ask for from a design perspective, though, so it’s not the end of the world. Bloomic’s fast toggle and adjustable speed I think is something Ren’py natively supports, which makes it easier, but I loved that function.
My overall thoughts of the game… I think I figured out that my seed had been used to frame the whole accident that the dude was in? Overall, this was a really polished piece- the various presentations (emails, logs, the chat) were super slick. The ending hit me a bit abruptly, but that’s understandable, given the time constraints around development.
HG/HS deals with some pretty upsetting content- but it warns adequately for it, and I think the point of some pieces of media isn’t really to comfort, but to confront.
When put against the larger body of Bez’s work, I often find myself in uncomfortable shoes: no one likes to feel like they’re actively being a terrible person, and that discomfort is important to sit with. A lot of the reactions- though they feel hyperbolic or like, ‘no one could possibly be like that’ to those unfamiliar with living through these scenarios themselves: yeah, people are actually that mean. These stories are difficult to tell. They’re important to listen to, anyway.
Saying that I ‘liked’ this game feels a bit off to me. Instead, I will say that the experience rung true, and the story was presented well. This game also feels very ‘Bez.’ Do I suggest others play it? Sure, if they feel like they’re in an emotional space to handle very difficult topics. Proceed with caution: and take care of yourself.