When I first started this, I was somewhat turned off by the voice acting and dialogue, figuring this was yet another cheap intie title that somehow miraculously got backed, but over time it kind of grew on me a little. The concept is good and delivers ok. You basically figure out what a town likes or doesn't like and then inject it into your performances. There are QTE events and choices to make, which affect the current play and the audience's reaction. However, there don't appear to be any long-term or end-game affects. So, it's still pretty linear. The game will randomly break out into musical cinematics, none of which are skippable. The plot itself starts off interesting, but it eventually cumulates into a happy ending that feels empty. It's definitely wholesome, but I was expecting some kind of crazy twist, which never happened. Overall, this is a relaxing game about music and theater. It's not a title players should take too seriously.
This was a pretty fun game. There was really only one part where I got stuck and thought I had to start over, which I didn't. Honestly, there were a few times where I was like, "What the heck is this game??" Regardless, the puzzles make a decent amount of sense and aren't crazy difficult. Any seasoned adventure game or puzzle game player should get an hour or so out of this.
Retro adventures like this are some of my favorites. This one was okay in the end. The game isn't verly long at all, which isn't a bad thing because some of the puzzles are frustrating due to poor logic and fake solutions. Actually, the developers are pretty open about the fact that the fake solutions are literal attemps on their part to troll the player. There was one puzzle in particular that was very poorly designed. The visuals and the dialogue, in my opinion, are what made this the most LucasArts-like. That said, there are a few Easter eggs and popular culture references to discover. From a completionist standpoint, the achievements are pretty dumb. Most of them are "HiDdEn AcHiEvEmEnTs" that players cannot possibly be expected to figure out on their own. However, with a guide, players can expect to get them all in less than an hour. In the end, if you like old retro point-and-click adventure titles, you'll appreciate this one.
I got this game for free like 6 years ago and I played it for a little bit and lost interest. Mostly because I'm not a huge fan of avoid-the-enemy-while-running-around games that spiked in popularity around 2010. However, over the past few days, I suddenly felt like playing it again. It's about what I expected. It was fun, but a bit overrated, in my opinion. So, the searching and puzzle solving were a lot of fun. Most of the enemy encounters were pretty freaky, while some were just a pain in the butt. There's a lot of plot-development if you pay attention. If you don't, most of the game won't make sense to you. I paid enough attention to see the ending coming miles away. Most of what I'd heard was how well-done the existential horror was. However, it just didn't do it for me. In fact, I rolled my eyes a couple times. I can't really elaborate, as it would most certainly spoil things. In the end, I see why so many people like the story, even if I didn't. Beware that there's really only one ending. The only big problem I had with this game is that there was no way to review your objective. If there was, it was well-hidden. Had a couple times where I had to wander around aimlessly in order to figure out what I was supposed to interact with, etc. So, if you missed the last thing your character or someone else said, too bad, figure it out! I can say with confidence that if you like games similar to Amnesia, you'll definitely like this. If you aren't big on that sort of thing, in contrast, you should either wait for a sale or skip it.
I've never played the first game, so I cannot compare it. This was pretty good. It's a dystopian adventure that takes place in an extremely beaurocratic society. The main character must crawl his way up out of the mud to get to the top. There are different ways to do this. You can be a good guy, a bad guy or a somewhat evil with a touch of awkward good bad ridiculous guy. The things you say and the choices you make can change different outcomes. The parts I enjoyed were the grinds, the side quests and the various opportunities. The grind is what you have to do on each floor in order to get paid and gain authority. Some of it is kind of fun. Side quests involve helping someone, or yourself, with different objectives. The various opportunities involve obtaining literature or info that enable you to watch shows or read books to improve your skills or dialogue options. These can result in further side quests or advantages. As I said, I liked the grinds, but at the same time, they can become quite monotonous. So, I can see a lot of players losing interest because of that. Also, the maps are very linear. You can only move around along one rail-like line through all areas. I always wanted to move my analog stick in the actual direction I wanted to go, but my guy would just walk slower. Even after several hours of playing, I still caught myself doing that. A little annoying. There are a great deal of achievements to get. I consider myself an achievement hunter, but a great deal of them require multiple playthroughs, and I consider this game to be a bit too long to keep my interest in such a hunt. In the end, if you think you'd enjoy a fun little monochromatic dystopian adventure, go ahead and give this a try.
I like retro adventures like this. It was pretty fun. I have no knowledge of how Communist Poland was back in the 80s, so I can't say whether or not the interesting facts are accurate, but if the creator was there, they would know. Gameplay is mostly about choosing the right dialogue options. What you say or do could lead to a different ending. I think there are 4? Doesn't take very long to 100% and achievement hunt. The first issue I have is that it was too short, in my opinion. It felt rushed and the endings were abrupt. Also, there are controls for fighting, but only one short moment where you can choose to use them. Then, there's the jump button, which has no purpose at all. Ultimately, if you think you'd be interested in a short, dramatic retro adventure, you'll like this.
I started this game thinking it wouldn't be that good. However, I did end up enjoying most of it. I didn't realize you could configure colors and saturation until about half way through the game with totally monochromatic visuals. Don't know why it defaults to that, but at least you can change it. Fighting enemies and collecting stuff is fun. Everything is laid out for you on a map. So, there's none of that wandering aimlessly bullcrap. However, you're also given a listening ability, which doesn't appear to serve much purpose since the map is so detailed. The story involves figuring out what happened to the people who died before you got there. There's a bit of mystery and development. However, the ending was abrupt and ambiguous. Awfully cliche for an indy horror game, in my opinion. Oh yeah, it was also quite buggy. Several times I couldn't even start the game. Other times, it would suddenly quit on me out of nowhere. There was also a map that would crash the game unless you lowered your video settings before traveling there. So, every single time I had to travel to that map, I'd have to quit to the main menu, change settings, load, fast travel, quit to the main menu, change settings again and finally load. Every time. That was annoying. Ultimately, it's good. Especially because I got it free. I don't know that I would have paid money for it.
I liked and disliked this game. Retro-graphics in point-and-click adventure games are always a favorite of mine. The tech within the game, as well as the tech-speak, was pretty cool to me, but I think that's because I have a modest tech background. Some of it, understandably, was still lost on me, though. Dialogue is okay, but it tries too hard to feel like a Lucasarts/Lucasfilm game, such as Monkey Island, or Teen Agent. The music quickly became too much for me and I silenced it. Turns out that also mutes all cinematics. Problem-solving was great at first. Then it got progressively worse throughout the rest game. One series of riddles you eventually have to solve border on plain obnoxious. Eventually, a lot of it just became trial-and-error. Not to mention there were multiple times where I knew what I had to do, why and how, but the game wouldn't let me until it was ready. The story is something that's been done over and over at least a million times. Mankind depends too much on tech, the world is dying and the only solution is for a megalomaniacle villanous entity to take everything over, but too bad its omniscience can't out-think a generic Scooby-Doo squad who gives it a pro-free-will pep-talk after destroying it. Bottom line, if you like adventure games or are interested in a tech-oriented adventure, go ahead and give it a try.
This is a challenging platformer. There is no combat, but the game is spent navigating different obstacles to reach the goal at the end of each level. Tons of hazards in the way. Things become pretty difficult by the end. The main character has a few abilities, but does not gain any more as the game progresses. I wasn't too impressed when I started out, but the game managed to keep me engaged. I ended up beating it and collecting all the extra boxes in each chapter, which resulted in unlocking extra-difficult levels. After a few of them, I realized there's a huge list and I ended up not continuing. The game is good, but not *that* good. The story is very simple. Nothing special. The retro graphics are good-looking, depending on the level. Some levels are almost monochromatic. Anyway, if you're a fan of difficult and challenging retro platformers, you'll like this.
I had heard of this game a long time ago, but never played it until now. It's your standard classic point-and-click adventure. The story is interesting with the history of ancient groups and powers. The puzzles are good and there are a decent amount of hints in the dialogue directing you to where you should go, or what you should do next. There was none of that combine-every-conceivable-object garbage that's found in other, lazier games, for the record. Most, if not all of the solutions actually made sense. The cartoon style graphics aren't my favorite, but I can't fault the game for that. Visually, the game is satisfying. Characters are very stereotypical, but not so much as to be insufferable. Anyway, if you're a fan of classic adventure games, you'll like this.
