There's obviously a lot of content in Convoy, with seemingly many more possible events than in FTL, and (like many reviewers have already stated) it has the bones of a good game. But the design is really haphazard and unfocussed at times, which leads to an overall experience that feels much less coherent and satisfying than FTL does. (I don't agree with the claim, by another reviewer, that Convoy "solves" the problem of always being pressed for time in FTL—that's the point.) There are design choices right off the bat in this game, like a weirdly truncated tutorial (why include it at all if stuff like instant-death from obstacles, which is unique and cool, isn't covered is beyond me) and having to replay the same starting message every time you begin the game (couldn't you at least give me an option box to turn it off?). Despite all of this I sat down and played a good amount this weekend, and on the second of two deep runs successfully beat the first boss. And—as this is a roguelike, I was expecting to have unlocked something for my efforts (I only had one thing unlocked to that point). But no. Nothing. Just an achievement. Great. I'll pin it to my wall, whenever I log in to Galaxy again to trip it. That seemed lame, but even lamer still was looking at the unlocks (wondering what I could do differently next time) and realizing that I did unlock something after beating the boss—it just didn't trigger. Killed my faith in the game entirely. Why bother playing if it's not going to do even the basic things it promises to do? I'd hoped that because this game is from 2015, some of the bugs other reviewers had complained about might have been fixed, but I guess not. This game also seems poorly optimized for Mac—I have a mid-2016 Macbook which runs a lot of much newer (and more intense) games fine, but Convoy makes my computer fans run full blast just on the title screen. Probably for the best that I won't be playing it anymore.
While there aren't really many traditional "puzzles" in "Gone Home" I found that I didn't miss them. It is a real achievement that the Fullbright Company was able to create a game that feels engaging without a traditional mechanic outside of exploration. Honestly, as someone who was fascinated by the world of "Myst" as a kid, but who never had the patience for the sometimes arbitrary-seeming puzzles, I think there should be more games like this. If gaming is really about becoming other people and exploring what that's like, or going places you could never go in reality, I don't see why it should be any harder to imagine yourself as a young woman coming home to an empty home than it is to imagine yourself as a "chosen one" running across walls in Ancient Egypt, or whatever. There's a lot that is really valuable in "Gone Home," if you give it half a chance. In contrast to most games that I play, which can sometimes feel like they are sapping my life (like Civ 5, or TF2), I actually felt refreshed after playing. There was a moment that made me jump out of my chair and turn my computer off—and while its memory "charges" the rest of the playthrough, "Gone Home" isn't a game about jump scares. It's a simple game about family drama, very elegantly executed. If you're a bit of a voyeur and you like snooping through people's houses (and if you love nineties girl/garage punk), you will love "Gone Home."
Deponia is an alright adventure. It has decent production values and not-terrible voice acting. The puzzles are inventive, and some of the characters are memorable and funny in the vein of Schafer/Gilbert games. But I had to stop playing because of how misogynist the game's concept and writing is. I won't give it away, but the wheelbarrow, the memory wiping, the treatment of the trans woman who works in City Hall are disgusting. I don't think I'm sensitive, but I am disappointed I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere (but I haven't searched very hard, either). My suspicion that we're supposed to empathize with Rufus, which is difficult considering he is a hateful jerk. Not a lovable loser, ala Lucasarts's Guybrush (or others), just a loser who doesn't respect women (or any human beings, really—but especially women). If you have a conscience, the game will make you feel bad. While the humour is written in the vein of those Lucasarts games, Daedalic completely whiffed on tone, and that's a shame, because it's a major misstep that makes the game almost unplayable. This is NOT the direction that games should be going. Whenever I see the art for the future games in the series, which feature Goal (I mean, jesus) in various states of coma, I just... feel bad. Pass! Pick up something else.
