Barcarolle in Yellow by Victor Ojuel
Playtime: 1 hour
TLDR: Perhaps you’re an actor being stalked across Venice in this moody thriller, or perhaps something else is going on . . .
Gamemechanical notes: Parser based. You can save and undo. I played once and think (?) there are multiple endings.
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I loved the title and cover art. They really set the mood and built anticipation. Very Silence of the Lambs-poster vibes
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has a promising setting and concept. We’re in an interesting time period! We’ve visiting colorful film sets full of unusual people! We’re going to Venice! Cutthroat film sets! Murderous stalkers! There’s a lot to work with here
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I was very engaged the whole time. Getting murdered was effective at building tension, and I was getting some of the intended feelings of paranoia, fear, etc.
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I finished the game (ending C) and although an explanation was presented, I still could not explain to you what was going on. [spoilers about the ending] I was undercover? Did I have some kind of backup? If so, where were they when I was getting strangled and pushed off a bridge? Why does the game open with me talking to the police?
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When I saw in the description that we were tackling pulpy ‘70s exploitation films, one of my immediate questions was “so, how are we handling the misogyny?” On that note, there were a couple of pieces of narration that notably sexualized the player character in what I read as a “sexy victim” way:
Trembling, you peel off your soaked dress. If this was a scene, the camera would be sliding down as you do, catching the goosebumps in your soft skin to emphasize your vulnerability, and ending with the wet heap on the floor. But it’s not a scene.
You run a hot bath, waiting until it’s half full to slide in, with a sensual moan of pleasure. Again, if this was a scene, the camera would catch you from behind, lingering on your nakedness as you raise one leg, then the other, and ease into the steaming water.
These bits both seemed gratuitous to me–the player character is alone and she presumably doesn’t find changing clothes to be notably erotic. All that said, I appreciate that the game includes a female protagonist—I really enjoy seeing female characters in fiction and I hope I don’t discouraging anyone from writing them.
- As others mentioned, the gameplay suffered from implementation issues, and I had a lot of the same problems. I think the thriller concept is good and the elements chosen to carry it out could be very engaging, but that fast-paced concept is really hurt by unfriendly / buggy implementation that kills the momentum. If I’m fighting with the game about how to grab a bridge or turn on a projector, it throws me out of that high-immersion state.