Tiny Bang Story is a hidden object game with no bang, no discernible story and with a bunch of screens that are connected only by visual style and reused visual elements. At least the music is elevator music, it won't get stuck in your head - if you manage to stay awake while listening to it. The loading/title screens are beautiful, which is good because you cannot skip them when you start the game. Enjoy them while you can; the rest of the game looks nothing like the title screen. As for game play, it looks like pixel-hunting is back in style. Make sure you have a good mouse, that left button will see some use! Game progression is almost completely linear, you must solve the current "puzzle" before advancing to the next. The puzzles are all the same unimaginative puzzles that are standard fare for this genre. It wouldn't matter much if there was anything else to the game, but there isn't. At least they're boring. If you get stuck on some of the puzzles, you won't have to worry about the hints being helpful. You only get one hint if you click on about 20 mosquitoes with tiny, tiny hit boxes that move around. At least they managed to sneak "tiny" into the game. Once you use a hint, you'll have to catch another batch of mosquitoes; rest assured, the next hint will also be useless (if it does anything at all). If you want to be entertained, just set your $4.99 on fire. That would be better than this game.
Nice pixel art, but otherwise very boring game. I didn't encounter any technical issues before I gave up on it. The idea of the code puzzles is neat on paper but doesn't work well in practice, the entire game feels like a chore, slogging through the pointless backgrounds. The walking speed is very slow - running is there but it's easy to miss the interactive spots so it works poorly at the end. I deeply regret I paid for this.
I haven't tried the remastered version yet, only the original. It installed fine, ran on the first launch without issues and I made it to the first level of Rapture where I did a bit of exploring. Saved the game, quit and then tried to continue a few hours later but now the game doesn't even start anymore, it just freezes right at start. (Windows 10) The remastered version may be better (it doesn't sound like it, based on other reviews) but the original is unplayable.
Wow, this is such an excellent game to deliver a well-written story. I don't want to give away details here so I'll be vague but the actress delivers a fantastic performance that adds a lot of the game's atmosphere. The UI is good, although a few quality-of-life changes would be welcome. I think this is a must-play for lovers of mysteries and story-rich games.
