I got this at a discount, so I think the price was almost right. But... - I wish there was an option to play Retro without the curved screen and no background noise. It's fun for a short time but later you'd want to play without distractions. - No Revenge of DOH. I expected it to be included, and I mostly bought this game to play Arkanoid II. A shame it's not there. - Eternal Battle is dead. Nobody is online to play. Bummer. - Neo is nice but not as good as Revenge of DOH. Meh. - No Revenge of DOH. Oh, I already said that. I can't get this out of my mind. I really wanted to like this. I'm only keeping it for the nostalgia.
One I saw this game, as a story and music lover, I jumped into the bandwagon. It took me a bit of practice at the beginning, but once the rythm fingers settled in, the music started flowing. The music and the graphics are beautifully crafted, and I felt I was a part of the story that was developing. Every once in a while I went back to a previous chapter to be able to play it "perfect". But then it arrived chapter 16 and the train derailed. The story took a dark path (that's ok, no problem about that), but the music... it started to break up along the story, coming more and more of a no-rythm, non-sense notes almost impossible to follow. The joy turned into a chore of trying to follow some sounds without a clue of when the keys need to be pressed. Thankfully, after a lot of misses, the game has some mercy of you and provides a traveling dot to show you when the notes are coming. But say bye-bye to that perfect chapters, and that means the "extra" ending scenes will not be shown. I wanted to love this game. I really did. But the strangeness of the music on chapters 17, 18 and so on, almost imposible to follow, sucked the joy out of it. It's a shame, because this game deserves better.
I agree that this is not for everyone. If you get it expecting some kind of "adventure" game, you'll hate it. But if you carefully read its description, that's exactly what you get: moments of everyday life, watch your surroundings, no context, no challenges. And this is exactly what this is about. Because you experience small moments out of context, it is you who must give a context to those moments. If you can wonder why are they there, how do they feel, what have been their stories so far, maybe, just maybe, you will be able to enjoy the ride. Sometimes it's so pixelated that you can't figure out what are they really doing, so you let your imagination fly a little more. This is a very minimalistic work. Graphics are blocky, there is no structure, time just happens. It is so simple that I felt thrilled when two of the characters crossed their paths. And a big point: the songs are very beutiful. They alone are worth what this costs. And more.
You're buying it only for the extras included in the "Collector's Edition", since the game is free to play online on thelastdoor.com The three stars are not for the game quality, but a half indication that you can play it for free.
An old classic brought back by GOG. I remember playing it in my youth, and having fun. It's on par with old Lucasarts games, but with a bit more death (but not as annoying as Sierra's deaths). A bit of pixel hunting sometimes, but fair inventory-based puzzles. If you like old adventures, and you are able to enjoy pixelated drawings, it's a must. Thank GOG for such old memories back.
