This game does a number of things impossibly well: 1) A hilarious and accurate recreation of what it was like to use the internet in the mid-to-late 90's. The color pallete, the graphical capabilities, even the slowness of the loading and the sluggish interface. Just the general vibe of the hypnospace is so accurate to the early internet it's really incredible - the way people type, the early lingo, the way people/companies aren't really even sure how to use this thing yet, and the "anything goes" feeling of what's cool and what's not. 2) Incredibly dense worldbuilding. The Hypnospace Outlaw team has made an entire alternative history with alternative sports, politicians, mascots, products, and even food. In this world, mix melted butter and ice cream and eat it. Or even taking the premise at face value, where people browse the internet in their sleep. 3) A great cast of characters. The archetypes were just completely spot on, but nothing is ONLY played for laughs, even if it might be mined for comedy at first. 4) Surprisingly engaging game mechanics. The game's long-term structure feels like a open-ended Metroidvania - you'll get money you need to buy certain plot related items, or special programs, or you'll just know things about the characters for specific barriers. You can even sequence break if you're careful. Most of this comes from things you notice and have to simply remember. By the end I had several pages of notes on a small notebook from this game alone. All in all, I LOVED this game. I was completely addicted to it for a day and a night, and it was an extremely well done game. It gave me nostalgia and reminded me of days on the internet I had completely forgotten, and it gave me an exciting mystery to solve. This is the kind of game that makes me use superlatives like they're going out of style, because BY GOD this is a brilliant vision of some very talented people.
Tacoma's plot is perhaps lower on the list of priorities than other tasks. The plot is certainly there, and is actually more fleshed out than the previous game by Fullbright, Gone Home, but it's also more of a framework for the story to dip into other areas. The places where the game really gazes intently at its subject is in the interpersonal connection of characters in a world with tough choices and a lingering danger. One telling scene early on depicts a character asking the on-ship medic about the dangers of space life, as if he didn't really know the total risks of what he signed on for. His reactions to the events that follow is in-line with this sudden realization that space life isn't just about the deafening isolation. The writing has pockets of focus into the mechanics of space life (not very different from most sci-fi - don't expect novel science ideas here) but each character embraces their own mortality in a multitude of ways. There is an scene of a man and a woman, hugging as they contemplate the most difficult decision of their lives, as the space ship turns around them. If that is what you sign up for in sci-fi, this is the game for you. It's not earth shattering, it's not a thriller or an exciting mystery. It's a slice of life experience that increases in intensity, but the general vibe remains low-key. There's also plentiful worldbuilding, depicting mega-corporations, morality of AI, and new political concerns.. This is also a different social politics world - half the cast is LGBT, and the characters' race is blended to reflect a multicultural future. Star Trek is a citation here. I have reservations about the game. I think the technology and graphics are a weak point. There were not many developers on the team and I can conprehend the drawbacks involved. Animations are great, for example. But the general aesthetic of the game feels empty, almost unpolished, and poor for the computer needed to play it.
