--Really good storytelling combined with a good story and well achieved atmosphere, and the fact that is told in short stories made this a must for me.-- I loved to read a good book since elementary school, but the thing I always liked more than a good novel is a good short story. Books are great for short stories (Poe, Stephen King, etc), and the only other media I enjoyed them was TV series (Twilight Zone and similar). So, any time I see short stories in other media I jump right to them, but videogames have been really dry in short story territory. Today, it seems more indies are trying to go there, and this is a good example on how to do it. The game is comprised of 4 stories, but the last one is a tie-in for the other 3. Spoilers, the first stories are linked, but that's not clear until the last one in which they give a sort of explanation. Anyway, I really like this game, I enoyed the stories a lot (except for the 3rd one), and it helped me to scratch that itch. The stories are pretty well written and the first one is specially chilling. I think they did a great job with the atmosphere and with how they comunicated what they wanted. I can't really say anything for other aspects of the game, I think graphics and sound are pretty well done, but I usually don't pay attention to that. The only reason I give it a 4, is because the 3rd chapter. The microfilm was too 'micro' and my TV didn't display it that well, so I needed to check online for what was I'm supposed to read on the microfilm, and that meant using a guide for almost all the chapter. In the end, I find it with some flaws, but really enjoyable nonetheless.
Let me start by saying: if you like the kind of games with emotional stories, then don't listen to the haters, this IS a masterpiece. It's true that this is like Dear Esther, more an interactive experience than a game, but that's not a weakness at all. It's a short experience and the story is not "deep", but that isn't a weakness either. This game really shines in it's details. The story is set in 1995, and each and every pixel is designed to reflect that age, from the books and the snes, to smaller details like the stereograms (wich I found an excellent small touch). True the story is not too deep, but the game guides you through it with excactly the pace it needs to. Also, the story is solid and well written, is way too real (if a little unbelievable), from the sister's speech to the reactions of every character. It really touched me. From all this you may understand why there's a lot of bad reviews to this game, mostly from people who looked for something else here, and didn't understand what this was all about. If you cried with games like Life is Strange or To The Moon, then give this a try. If you're looking for anything else, look somewhere else.
