Tacoma is a game that really shines when you take your time to inspect and appreciate the environments of the station. From the very first moments in you will encounter seemingly mundane props which you can grab and examine and I highly recommend checking them out. To my delight I encountered an item in the kitchen which resonated strongly with me, individual packets of Irish breakfast tea. Exploring the food items aboard the station was surprisingly an iconic moment for me, but the real interest were the two sci-fi aspects. First the station itself, every bit of which feels very personal. The environments are pleasant for human habitation and enjoyable to interact with, a luxurious evolution from our own humble ISS. One could imagine this being a comfortable home for the duration of their stay there. Second, and for what I would really recommend Tacoma for- the involvement of AI in the story. For those who are fans of Asimov, or robot philosophy in general this is a sparkling gem. Witnessing the interactions between the crew and their AI, coming to understand their relationship- it's a wonderful experience. Those who are invasive snoopers might also come to appreciate or resent the characters present. Carefully ransacking their quarters and their offices I found myself becoming invested in the outcome of the story. I wanted their plan to work, for them to make it home safely. I can say that the game is not for those interested in puzzles or other gameplay features, or those who don't find simple observation enjoyable. This is a game for the introvert, watching the situation from the outside. It is something to immerse yourself in, to catch a glimpse of some possible future and how it relates to our current world. From start to finish the pacing was excellent, the ending satisfying, feeling like it truly had meaning- that here was taking place a piece of virtual history, right in the making, with dark implications looming in the distance. Try find the hen.
Overall I found the game to be very enjoyable, even with this mention that the game is less than what it should be- which is easy enough to see, yet at the same time fairly acceptable given the product as it is. To boil it down, the game is very clean and minimalistic, focusing well on art style, character and gameplay, but sorely lacking on lore and world development- despite hinting at a rather enticing story which never comes into it's own. The best comparison would probably be a mix of X-com and Rogue Legacy, with a hint of Darwinia mixed into the art side of things. As far as the tactical gameplay is concerned I think it's superior to X-com- at least, there's no penalty for blowing up the enemies. You also get to move the enemies around a lot and slam them into things. Quite satisfying. The game feels better paced, but is also shorter- the finale is suitably epic as well, at least if you've done well enough to survive. Nice music. Also extremely well balanced- the RNG is minimised and if someone dies it's generally clear what happened. I found a number of strategies to be effective- stealth spotting and sniping- AoE nuke- maximising stuns. Heroes can become extremely epic at max level. The character of the game is extremely well done, but comes with a problem- there's only two of them- two characters. Good characters, and much needed too, otherwise the experience really would be rather lonely. Unfortunately you never really learn much of their past even though they hint at a previous life. In fact you never really learn much about the world at all, save that it is beautiful and in ruins. The game could have been much more than it was, which I see more as a good thing than a bad. It's probably worth the discounted price, you'll have to judge for yourself. It's certainly artsy and creatively made, with a healthy dose of both humour and serious undertones. All from those two disembodied voices. I'd definitely recommend the game for study though.
