Posted on: September 11, 2023
Nervensaegen
Verified ownerGames: Reviews: 102
Intense, enjoyable 5 hour visual novel
This is pretty much a telltale-ish game. The story is engaging, fully voiced, decent graphics. All screens in the game description are gameplay, not cut scenes: You get what you see. Progress is rather linear, though. It takes ~4-5h to complete. The characters are complex; flawed, have made and do make mistakes. The setting is well researched. And the story has this “just one more scene” vibe to it. Performance is a bit poor in some areas, but nothing game breaking. I encountered no bugs either. There are some odd reviews around, acting offended that there is a black kid who, heaven forbid, has a white mother; even call the story unrealistic. Seriously, what's wrong with people? Unrealistic? Yes, the plot is intense, to put it mildly. There is a lot to stomach here. But! First, the events, though fictionalized, did happen in 1969, just not all to the same person. Some are recorded history, others (like child abuse) can be reasonably assumed. Second, the 1960s were, de facto, not a great time to be black--if there ever was such a time at all. Third, even if you disagree on some details, keep in mind that the story uses an unreliable narrator: A kid's recollection of events, told 20 years after the fact. I sometimes don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Fourth, to tell a story means to focus on, and show conflict. If everything was peachy, what was there to tell? Dramatization is a necessary ingredient. And last, I have not lived in the 60s, but, I've lived in a village. I have seen similar things happening in the 90s. I could easily compile a story just as gruesome, because the core of rural communities hasn't changed. When we had not a black person left in 100km, people found somebody else to abuse. The cause for abuse is not the victim, the cause is the abuser. Abusers never change, only their victims do. All that said: You absolutely should try this story. You won't regret it! Now excuse me, while I go back to check out the other endings.
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