This game was made by Bracket Games and released in early 2015. The story of this game follows a young girl named Kelly as she drives home during a major storm while talking to various members of her family on the phone and the many conversations that arise from that, as it goes on you begin to see the deeper issues surrounding this family but also, at least in my case begin to appreciate the family and your own family for what they are.
This is a very short game and the main story can be beaten in approximately 30-45 minutes with around 20 mins added if you play the epilogue so it's prefect if you just want something to 'play' between other games or when you've gotta head out . It's really easy to 100% and get all the trophies for if you're into that sort of thing (which I am), the game only consists of the main story, the epilogue and the extras menu which include the radio, short stories and some photos taken by the main character.
The design of this game is super simple and doest really have a lot going on, It only really uses White,grey and Black and is entirely 2D. However While the game has very basic design I feel it worked well, this game really didn't need to be flashy in any way, the only negative comment I could say about the design is the use of the rain effect going over the text, It may just be me but I found it really difficult to read at times and it made my eyes strain a little. Thankfully the epilogue doesn't do this at all.
As a game there is nothing more to do than hold R2 to move the car and select different answers so if anything this fits the visual novel style more I suppose. I could never imagine myself playing that style of game but recently I've really got into them, I think they work better as puzzle or mystery games such as Danganronpa and generally most half decent Vita games. The epilogue is even more of a visual novel as you can walk either left or right and just select what you want to say next.
I found I enjoyed the Epilogue a lot more, it was more intimate as it only focused on you and your mother and the phone call you have while waiting for a bus, I think this one was a lot 'deeper' because it went into the player characters problems rather than those of the family, the tone suddenly shifts to the mother almost having a go at you in order for your character to finally open up.
I like that there is no voice acting in this game and that it relies heavily on the background noise and the radio stations (If you choose to listen to them) as a source for setting the tone of the game, I feel both absolutely convey the tone of each situation you come across when talking to the parents in the game, the sound of the tornado warning sirens seem to arrive just as you hit a quite meaningful and tense moment in the story of your family.
One thing I really did not care for in the game was the brothers story, like I get maybe he had some stuff going on and was very much still a child but I did not care for his actually story he decided to tell you save for it changing up the scenery of the game from time to time like when the lighting strikes and a bird turned into the beat from his story for a split second.
Although you could choose your answers during the main story it would not change the ending which almost makes you wonder why there is even an option at times, this is slightly different during the epilogue however as you can outright choose to not do something and the game ends, I much prefer the epilogue in general due to the choice system as it at least made me feel like I wasn't just reading a story and I had some element of control.
The game clearly deals with depression and I don't think that makes the game inherently negative, I've dealt with quite crippling depression in my life before when I was a teenager due to X Y and Z and this game reminded me of being in that place again as the character sort of breaks down during the end of the game, they realise in a lot of ways they are the problem and bottling things in is not the answer.
Perhaps the morale of the game is that family are more dependable than you think and they'll always be there even if they're having problems too, I think that's a good message and not one people really think about as much as they should. Like we all get a bit annoyed at family at times and maybe we find them embarrassing or you feel like you're quite different from them but I think you gotta remember that they give a shit about you regardless.
I played this on PS4 but due to its length and simplicity I feel it would have worked better on the Vita and I'll probably play it on the Vita if I ever feel the desire to replay it. It is probably the perfect kind of game for the Vita in fact, I feel the console really is under appreciated however its strong points are indie, RPGS and visual novels and they are certainly the reasons I still play it as much as I do.
Overall would I say this game is worth your very short amount of time? Yeah. If you're unsure if you want to play visual novel style games this short game would be a decent starting point however I feel as though the price I paid is the only price id be happy to pay for it as it really was just that short and really does not have any amount of replayability unless you're adamant you want all the trophies.
No comments:
Post a Comment