VirtuaVerse

just a fun work your brain game

GOG was giving this game away for a moment, and I snagged it, as a cyberpunk point and click sounded right up my alley. I don't regret playing it, and would reccomend it if those combination of words also intrest you. It's got flaws, but it's a fine game. The story has an interesting setup: Nathan, the main character, wakes up to find his girlfriend has vanished and left a mysterious note on their bathroom mirror. Nathan blindly pursues after her, unaware of the bigger plot about to unfold in front of him. The writing is alright, but it does tend to get hamfisted with it's message. Nathan isn't a huge standout as a protagonist unfortunately. He doesn't go through much of an arc, and the most I can say about his character is that is he's really into old tech and has a tendency to become impatient. The ending, without spoiling anything, was also just alright. The gameplay isn't trying anything crazy, but it's what you would expect from a solid modern verb-less P&C. You can examine, use, use items, or combine items, and it all works fine. It did frustrate me a little when I got held up a couple times because I needed a specific dialogue option for Nathan to get an idea of what to do. Learning that, I made sure every option was exhausted as I went along, and double checked after I made progress. Where the game shines the most is in it's presentation. The pixel art, specifically the backgrounds, are beautiful. I'm not an expert in appraising art, but I found myself staring into the environments as I was trying to think. Everything else from the characters to the inventory items are pretty good, although Nathan sideways walk cycle made me chuckle at first. It's also easy to tell what can be walked on. The UI is simple and unobtrusive, with only the inventory having an onscreen icon. The music is mix of an aggressive synthwave and rock fusion, and moody synth drones fitting the motif of where Nathan currently is. There's also a treat for fans of the Demo scene.

Don't expect too much gritty gloomy moody noir stuff. It's quite silly most of the time, but still manages to get a good captivating atmosphere going.

This game is a love letter to old-school adventure games, cyberpunk and 90's hacker culture. It is beautifully presented with a score exactly as good as you would expect from "Master Boot Record". As a faithful recreation of traditional adventure games, it comes with all of the flaws of the old ways. Some of the puzzles are painfully obscure and I had to resort to a guide on a few occasions. It's not full "moon logic", but it get close at times. The story is self indulgent in a similar way to Ready Player One (what if my hyper-specific niche was necessary to save the world) but with general 80's pop-culture ephemera replaced with 90's hacker terms and references. As self-indulgent as it is, it does manage to remain charming for the majority of it's runtime.

I just love this game, puzzles are logical and I've managed to solve all of them retro style, by own brain. Great universe, great story, deep detalization, funny humor. I would definitely recommend this game to all Beneath The Steel Sky lovers and other similar games. Love it!